Raising the Boy Who Lived
by sunshinedreamer57
Summary: Sirius's POV. What if after James and Lily's death, Peter wasn't successful in framing Sirius? Told through the memory of Sirius as he and Remus raise Harry. (Username change. Formerly: Fluter)
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing you recognize. **

Many people remember it as a dark and dreary Halloween. I, myself, have mixed feelings for that fateful night back in 1981, but I have learned that what is meant to be will always be. That was the night I lost three of my best friends in the world—two murdered at the hands of the other. James and Lily were the perfect couple, and Harry was the luckiest kid in the world… Or so that is what I kept telling myself back then. That was before Peter (oh, a name I have not spoken in many years) decided to mess up all of our lives just so he could live. Pssht. Pathetic.

I knew something was wrong the moment Dumbledore said he needed to speak to Remus and me, though I could never have imagined how wrong things could really be. After all, Lord Voldemort had just been defeated at James and Lily's hands. I should have known there would be a catch. I should have caught the look in Dumbledore's eyes as he relayed the news to the Order.

"Hagrid's bringing Harry to the two of you as we speak," Dumbledore had said.

"He's bringing Harry to _us_?" Remus had repeated.

Dumbledore had nodded once, a single tear running down his cheek.

The truth hit me like a bludger at that moment in time. The only reason Harry would be brought to me would be if…if James and Lily were no longer able to take care of him, and the only reason Dumbledore would have wanted Remus in on the care of Harry officially would be if it was not really over.

"They're gone?" I had asked.

Dumbledore said nothing in return, the look in his eyes telling everything. I fell to my knees, sobs racking my body.

"They fought until the end," Dumbledore said as though it would justify their deaths.

I did not reply, neither did Remus. He had not sunk to his knees, but I could see him shaking out of the corner of my eye. He was not taking it well either.

I remember the knocks on the door shook the entire house when Hagrid had arrived holding little Harry in one giant hand. He had handed Harry to me without saying a word, pulling out his oversized handkerchief the next second and blowing his nose.

"Oh, Remus," Diane Byers, his then fiancé, had come in the room at that moment.

He had said nothing as she took him in her arms. That was one of the first times I remember Remus crying in a room full of people.

"I heard he tried to frame you, Sirius," she had said.

"Didn't work, either," I had replied.

Yes, that rat did try to frame me, but I had been at the Ministry at the time it had went down; therefore, I had had an alibi. Of course, when I had been there, I was not aware that I would need an alibi. That had been one of the first things Dumbledore had told me about when he revealed the horrible news.

"I believe I need to talk to you two about setting up magical wards," Dumbledore had said then.

"Wards?" it seemed all Remus could do that night was repeat everything Dumbledore said in a questioning manner.

"Yes," Dumbledore had replied, not bothered at all by Remus's constant echoes.

"You don't believe he's gone, do you?" I had asked after looking around the room to make sure it was only the three of us and Diane.

Dumbledore looked down at Harry and then shook his head.

"Alas, I do not, Sirius," he had answered me.

I nodded numbly handing Harry to Remus. The four of us spent the rest of that night discussing plans and mourning for our lost friends.

* * *

Everything had come together within a week after that. Remus, Diane, Harry, and I moved into a fair sized house on the outskirts of a village close to other magical families. It took a while to adjust, but we all knew it would be better for the long run. Remus got a job at a bookstore in the village, as muggle businesses did not screen for lycanthropy. Diane had gotten a job at an antique store in the village as well, but I had decided to stay home and think through my life.

It was a crisp morning, on December thirteenth of that year. I remember I woke up early to the sounds of crying in the next room. I ran in there in a heart beat, but it was just little Harry having a bad dream.

"There, there, Harry," I had soothed him patting his head in a comforting manner.

"He wake you up too?" the sleepy voice of Remus asked from the doorway.

I looked over my shoulder and nodded.

"Diane's making breakfast," he said.

Harry was fully awake by that time looking up at me through Lily's eyes. He reached out for me, and I picked him up.

Turning to Remus, I spoke to Harry, "Now, let's con Uncle Remus here into changing your nappy."

Remus sent me a death stare.

"First off, Padfoot," he began, "I prefer Moony in context with him. Second off, you haven't changed a nappy since we got him."

I offered Remus a smile, the thought of Lily and James' death no longer cutting as deep into my heart as it had been.

"Alright, alright," I grumbled and set off to do the task.

Remus left the room before I was finished, the smell of breakfast magnetizing him downstairs.

"What do you say, little Harry," I said, an epiphany hitting me all at once, "that we have a little fun with Uncle Moony?"

Harry, content from a fresh nappy, clapped his hands in glee.

"Moo'ey! Fun!"

That was the first words he had spoken since that fateful Halloween night. I remember before that, Harry's first word was 'P'ongs.' I spent three days teaching him to say 'Padfoot' and James had came in and said, "Harry, say 'Prongs'" and the little booger had said it. I had argued with James that it did not count; that Harry had not said 'Prongs.' Lily put three separate silencing spells on that night, one on both James and me and the third on Remus as he was laughing so hard.

"Oh, come on, Harry," I complained with a smile, "you couldn't have said 'Padfoot?' You had to say 'Moony' first?"

Harry had just smiled up at me with his angelic smile, and my heart melted instantly.

"Fun!" he repeated.

"Of course."

It was bad when a seventeen month old could remember the fun with Remus better than a twenty year old.

I walked out of Harry's nursery holding him tight to my chest with my left arm, my right hand clutching my wand. I conveniently walked past Remus and Diane's room, muttering the correct spell.

"Sirius, are you almost done?" Diane asked up the stairs.

I appeared at the top of the stairs, seeing no need in answering her. Breakfast that morning was a slow affair, but I remember it was Remus who got up from the table first to head up and get ready for work.

"AH!" Remus yelled not even a minute later. "SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"

Diane sent me a knowing look. I smiled innocently and continued to feed Harry a piece of banana. Remus appeared in the doorway. Harry started laughing, and I looked up. Remus was soaked from head to toe in blue paint, sending me a murderous look.

"What?" I asked, fighting the urge to laugh.

He fumed for a second before answering me.

"My walls decided they did not like being painted blue anymore. You wouldn't happen to know who might have done it, would you?"

I flashed him my most innocent looking smile, but it did not help that time. He charged at me. He literally charged me. I dropped the bowl full of bananas on Harry's high chair a fraction of a second before he knocked me out of my seat.

It was an hour and a half before either of us stood up. I had bruises for a week after that, and I made sure Remus had his fair share as well.

* * *

**A/N: I had to add in a prank before ending the chapter. This isn't meant to be an angst story, it just kinda started that way. I apologize up front for the mistakes, especially the 'British' terms. I'm American so I don't know the sayings off the top of my head and I tried real hard to keep the dialogue as much British as possible. **

**It is told as a story from Sirius's memory, explaining the constant use of the word 'had'. **

**Please review.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own anything, except maybe minor knowledge of chess.**

The thing I remember most about Christmas of 1981 is that it was bittersweet. I woke early that morning, not by Remus's crazy antics (he once decided it would be funny to reverse the gravitational pull of my bed; I woke up looking up at the floor and Remus rolling around laughing in it), but by the gleeful scream of Harry. I rushed out of bed to find the toddler making his way to the present filled tree on wobbly legs.

The first time I remember Harry walking without help was back in August of that year. James and I had been trying to get him to walk to one of us for hours on end. Remus just walks in and holds his arms out wide and says, "Harry!" He walked to Remus instantly. Remus had gloated about it for weeks after that.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," I had said to him, walking over and picking the seventeen month old up. "Don't you think we ought to wait for Uncle Moony and Aunt Dee to get up?"

"P'esents!"

I had looked down to him lovingly, an idea striking me in the process.

"What do you say we freeze two salamanders with one spell?" I had suggested to him, taking the stairs three at a time.

Remus and Diane were sleeping soundlessly in their room. I tip-toed through their bedroom door all the while signaling to Harry to be quiet by holding my left index finger in front of my lips. I pulled out my wand and muttered the correct spell. Food floated from downstairs and hovered just above their bed. I held back a laugh, quietly backing out of the room.

It still amazes me to this day that I had gotten away with such a feat. Out of all of us, I had been the hardest to get up throughout our school years, as I slept like a rock and enjoyed every minute of it. James was pretty hard to wake up as well, but an ice cold bucket of water took care of that. Remus, on the other hand, was a light sleeper; the feather of a hippogriff blowing in the wind would wake him up but I guess over the years between graduation and the downfall of Voldemort, he became a heavier sleeper, valuing it more because he got less.

I do not remember the thing that had actually woke Remus up. It might have been my yelp of pain when I backed into the door face, or it could have been Harry's enthusiastic yell of "Moo'ey!"

Whatever had caused it did wake Remus up and did dump the food on their bed. I remember he looked down at the bed in shock as though asking the food why it was in his bed and expecting it to answer. He then looked up to me, it dawning on him gradually.

"Sirius Orion Black," he had said slowly as tolerant annoyance crept into his voice word by word.

I had smiled innocently at him in response, raising Harry up as my shield.

"Don't you even think about hiding behind Harry," he continued venomously, getting up out of his breakfast filled bed.

"Oh, come on, Moony," I had replied from behind Harry. "Why do you got to be like that for? Harry and I just thought it would be nice for you to have breakfast _in _bed."

"I'll show you breakfast," he had said and he had charged.

I had just enough time to sit Harry down lightly on the floor before I ran full speed down the stairs, transforming into my animagus. He tackled me just inside the back door. Needless to say, it was a little while longer before Harry could open his presents.

Harry eventually got to have his Christmas, though neither Remus nor I were able to watch him play with his toys. During our little fight, we had knocked over the cauldron full of potion Diane had put on to boil Christmas Eve night. She made up scrub the floor on our hands and knees without magic while she watched Harry play with his toys.

We did not have much to give that Christmas, but we made sure what we did give meant something. I had gotten Harry a play wand that emanated harmless sparks every time he waved it. Diane had gotten him new clothes, as he was growing out of his clothes rather fast then. Remus, ever thoughtful Remus, had gotten Harry a photo album that began with pictures of Lily's family and James's family and went through the Marauder years up until Harry was born.

* * *

Christmas came and Christmas went that year along with Boxing Day and it was soon New Years Eve.

It was almost midnight, and I was sitting in the arm chair sketching, as I had always had an affinity for art. Remus was sitting over in the corner of the living room teaching Harry the basics of Wizard's Chess using a muggle board and pieces. I had told him time and time again that Harry was too young, but he still persisted on teaching him.

"Now, Harry, what do you want to move next?" Remus had asked him.

The toddler had looked at the board with a child's enthusiasm. He pointed to the knight.

"Very good, Harry," Remus had praised. "Where does it need to go?"

Harry pointed to the spot in front of Remus's queen.

"If you do that, Harry, you will lose your knight," Remus warned.

I cannot begin to count the number of times I remember Remus and James playing chess in the common room throughout our school years so it was no surprise that Remus would teach Harry the game. It seemed like they had a game going nearly every night. Sometimes one of them insisted on playing against me, but that was very seldom. The two were very good at the game, no doubt about that, therefore, I was no competition for them.

"Horsie!"

Remus looked over to me beseechingly. I smiled over top my drawing of a quidditch match and shrugged my shoulders.

"You're the one who insisted on teaching him," I replied.

Remus narrowed his eyes.

Many things happened within the next minute. Harry snatched up Remus's knight without Remus's noticing, Diane walked into the room, and the clock struck twelve, marking the beginning of the New Year: 1982.

"Happy New Years!" she had greeted.

"Happy New Years!" Remus and I had echoed, our minds far away from the New Year.

I remember the next few minutes were quiet as each of us was taking a trip down memory lane. I had lost a lot in 1981, mainly three of my best friends in the entire world (one of whom I would have never thought would betray me yet did), but I had also gained a lot. One of which I had gained was playing with the knight he had stolen from Remus at that moment in time.

"Harry!"

The moment was broken by Remus as he noticed his missing knight.

"Horsie!" the toddler had exclaimed.

Remus got up and started chasing Harry around the room. Just when Remus would almost catch him, Harry would dart just out of Remus's reach under a chair or a table or something.

I do not exactly remember what Remus tripped over, if it was my foot or one of Harry's toys. What ever it was, it took Remus down. At the time, though, I had not looked down to see exactly what he had fallen on, as I was too busy laughing my head off, but a fit full of giggles from Harry followed by a stream of curses from Remus quickly alerted me to what he had fallen into. I looked down to my left to find Remus looking more like a canvas than a man, as he had fallen right on top of my satchel full of paint. He had paint all over his face: orange paint streaked in his hair, red paint outlining his eyes, blue paint just under his nose, and green paint on his cheeks.

I did not stop laughing for fifteen minutes straight.

"Yeah, laugh it up," Remus had muttered darkly to me. He looked over at the chess figure still clutched in Harry's hand. "Stupid horsie."

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the delayed update. I had a tennis match Monday away that got rained out **_**after**_** we got there and played about three complete matches. I had a game yesterday as well, and did not get home until late again. I'm not exactly satisfied with this chapter, but I have wrote it and rewrote so I decided to just go ahead and post it. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing you recognize, that sadly includes Harry, Remus, and Sirius.**

January 10, 1982 was not a particularly important day worldwide. It was a Sunday that year and historically set a record low temperature of around -27 degrees Celsius here in England. Yes, it was cold, but that is not why this date stands out in my mind the most. It was the events within the guest room just down the hall from my own room. More specifically it was the creature living in the wardrobe in there.

That morning started out unusual, I do remember that. I woke conscious to the fact that somewhere downstairs someone was singing, and judging by the vocal range, that someone was Diane. I rolled out of bed and made my way towards the sound, stumping my toe on the small table Remus had insisted on placing right beside my door. I had arrived in the kitchen muttering curse words under my breath.

"Morning sleepy head," Diane had stopped her singing and greeted me while she cooked breakfast. "Did you run into that table again?"

"Stinking idiotic Remus," I replied with a few choice words.

Diane just laughed in response.

"What's with the singing?" I had asked, changing the subject.

"Can I not sing while I cook breakfast?"

I gave her a look, and when she did not bulge, I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Remus and Harry were already up working on Remus's morning crossword, well Remus was working on it with Harry seated in his lap. That explained why neither had woken me up that morning.

"What's a six letter word for a guard?" he had asked, not bothering with morning greetings.

"Keeper?" I had suggested taking a seat in the other arm chair. "You son of a—"

"Sirius," Remus warned with a smile looking down at Harry.

"Banshee," I finished smiling innocently before changing the subject. "What's with Diane this morning?"

"We're supposed to be going to Diagon Alley this morning," he replied, not looking up from his crossword.

"But the singing?"

Remus smiled.

"Lockhart's new book is coming out."

"Ah," I said, nodding my head in understanding. "You're only competition."

Remus snorted, writing in another word.

"And it's your turn to extricate the boggart from the wardrobe in the guest room seeing as I got the one out of the suitcase under your bed a couple of weeks ago. You know the one that caused you to sleep on the couch for about five or six nights before you finally realized what it was."

I sighed, sending him a dark look.

"Well, I wasn't aware of what it was. Besides you knew what it was from the start and didn't tell me. How was I supposed to know boggarts were impartial to _my _suitcase?"

"_Your _suitcase is a dark enclosed space," Remus argued. "And _you_ are the same one who used to want to be an Auror at the Ministry."

I rolled my eyes. "What ever."

Remus laughed.

"So do you want me to do it before or after we go to Diagon Alley?" I asked.

"Before," Diane answered instead of Remus. "And breakfast is ready."

* * *

After breakfast, I made my way up to the guest bedroom with full intents on getting rid of the boggart. I shut the door to the room, keeping Harry out in case he decided to wander up that far. The wardrobe was shaking, as though laughing at my task, but with a swish of my wand and the correct spell, the door flew open.

For three long seconds nothing happened, but on the fourth it came out. My breath got caught up in my throat, my heart beat pounded against my chest, and yet I was still unable to speak the spell. It was Lily walking towards me with the same look of scorn on her face she would have when James and I had done something she did not like.

"Traitor," she spat, her musical voice dripping with disgust. "It's because of you that I'm dead. It's because of you that I don't get to raise my son!"

I took an involuntary step back, my left hand clutching my chest, and raised my wand.

"Riddikulus!"

I remember wishing it would work, but it was not effective. The boggart changed shapes. James now stood in the very place Lily had been. The expression on his face was of pure hatred, a look that had never in my twenty-two years been directed at me.

"You have no right to raise my son," he said in the same calm voice he used to use when he was talking about something he could not stand. "You betrayed my friendship. I should have never trusted you!"

"Riddikulus!"

I said the spell for the second time that day, wishing in vain that it would work. The boggart changed shapes again, but this time it did not just stick with one. It became two coffins, the names James and Lily written on them, then it became Peter changing into a rat, and finally it became the cruelest place on Earth: Azkaban.

"Riddikulus!"

I heard laughter behind me, and I joined in. The boggart exploded in smoke. I turned around. Remus was tickling Harry in the open doorway.

"The door…?" I had trailed off.

Remus stopped his attack on Harry's sides.

"We thought you might need some help."

I had offered a smile that did not quite reach my eyes. My mind was on the last act of the boggart. I knew what it meant. It was the what could have been. If Peter had been successful in framing me, I would not have been there in that moment in time standing in that room with Harry and Remus. I would have been in Azkaban, slowly losing my mind.

"Moo'ey says we can get ice cream!" Harry said enthusiastically, wriggling out of Remus's grasp and interrupting my train of thought.

"Ice cream you say?" I had repeated, happy for the distraction.

Harry nodded his head.

"He says I gosta tickle a black doggie."

"A black doggie?"

Harry nodded his head to my question again.

"Hmm," I said, pretending to think. "Do you know of any black doggies?"

Harry just nodded his head for a third time. He pointed to me.

"Well, in that case," I had said, transforming into my animagus form.

I bounded for the stairs, jumping the last six to the landing. Remus had picked Harry up, and the two chased me down into the living room. It was a couple of hours before we made it to Diagon Alley.

* * *

**A/N: Finally I've updated. It took me three different times to start this chapter, and I think this one worked best. The statistic at the beginning of the story actually happened, though it might be a degree or something off. A couple different websites had different numbers, so I took the average. The next chapter probably won't be up for a couple of days, Wednesday at the latest.  
**

**Thanks for reading, and please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing, except some sports tape which is currently taped around my jammed middle finger and ring finger.**

By the age of three months, Harry could sleep through the night without waking up and subsequently waking Lily and James up. To this day, I can still remember James complaining about never getting enough sleep because Harry would start crying just around the time James would fall asleep. Remus and I would just laugh when the twenty year old would fall asleep in the middle of breakfast or the middle of a game of chess. Lily would just shake her head and say something along the lines of, "I dunno why he's so sleepy. I'm the one who got up and put Harry back to sleep. He just stole my pillow, put it over his head, and went back to sleep himself."

I also remember the first time Harry slept through the night. It was the middle of November the year he was born, and Remus and I had just gotten back from a mission to spy on Voldemort's movement. We had decided to crash at the Potters, not unlike many other times. James had gloated all day about Harry being able to wake Remus and me up that night. He had even gone as far as to put Harry's crib in their guest room between the two four poster beds Remus and I were going to sleep in. We had all went to bed around ten that night, and I was fully prepared to be woken up in a couple hours by a crying Harry. However, when seven o'clock rolled around, I woke up to Harry staring down at me from his crib as content as ever. I did not let James live that down for a while after that, needless to say.

How was I supposed to know that a little under a year and a half later I would be involuntarily in his shoes?

It was a chilly night in the middle of February and Diane was staying with her mum to take care of her for the week. Remus and I were on our own with Harry.

It was around two that morning when Harry had woken up screaming for James and Lily. I ran into his room followed by Remus clad in his heart pajamas Diane had gotten him for Valentines Day earlier that month; the same pajamas that I had laughed at for hours on end when Diane had given it to him at dinner one night. We found the infant kicking and screaming in his bed. I bent down and took the toddler in my arms.

"Harry, Harry," I kept repeating until the toddler calmed down enough to actually be awake. "What was it?"

"Where's my mum and dad?"

My heart skipped a beat at that moment in time, as I met Remus's eyes. A silent conversation passed between us. How were we supposed to answer this? Should we tell him the condensed truth? That Lily and James were dead, killed by the same man who left that lightening bolt scar on his precious forehead?

"They've gone away, Harry," Remus said, answering it as simply and painlessly as he could.

"Away?" the toddler repeated, tears still running down his tear-streaked cheeks.

"Yes, Harry, away," Remus nodded.

Harry looked from Remus to me and back again as his childish mind tried to make since of what Remus told him.

"Like Aunt Dee?"

Remus looked at me. I knew it was my question to take, but I did not know how to put it in order for him to understand.

"No, Harry, not like Aunt Dee," I whispered, not trusting my voice. "Aunt Dee is coming back, but… James and Lily aren't."

For a long moment, I thought he was going to start crying again, that I had said the wrong thing. I had actually braced myself for the wails before Harry spoke up again.

"They leave 'cause of me?"

Harry may have only been around nineteen months old at the time, but the toddler had a good vocabulary. Of course, that was expected when you grew up under the care of Remus Lupin, reader extraordinaire.

"No, Harry, they didn't leave because of you," Remus said sternly, but lovingly at the same time. "Don't ever think that. They loved you. You meant everything in the world to the two of them."

Harry nodded, an action I was vaguely aware of. My mind was far away with Lily and James. Would they be happy with the way Remus and I had handled that question? Would Lily just smile in approval? Would James chuckle once or twice and nod in appreciation?

"What do you say we go make some hot chocolate before we go back to sleep?" Remus had suggested, seeing that as the perfect time to change the subject.

Harry nodded, his previous mood vanishing almost instantly. Leave it to Remus to solve the entire world's problems with chocolate.

We walked out of the room, Harry still safe in my arms.

"Moo'ey?" Harry had asked as we made our way down the stairs.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why're there hearts on your pants?"

I could not resist answering. "Because, Harry, sometimes a man's heart isn't on his sleeve."

Remus had slapped my arm in response, sending me a death glare as his face turned as red as his aforementioned hearts. I laughed, picturing James and Lily's reactions in my head. Lily would side with Remus and give me a lecture about suggesting something like that in front of her son, but James would side with me and laugh his head off at Remus's embarrassment. Even though I knew the two were far away in the world beyond, I also knew they were close at heart, keeping an eye on Remus and me and protecting Harry as much as they could.

* * *

**A/N: OK, so I know this is about five hundred or so words shorter than normal, but I couldn't make it any longer. I apologize for the delayed update. I thought it was going to be up like Tuesday or Wednesday of this week and then it didn't get wrote and on Thursday I jammed my finger playing tennis somehow so it set my typing speed way back. But if all goes well, the next chapter should be up in a couple of days, possibly tomorrow, though doubtful. The poll is still up on my profile so if you have the time, please take it. And I know the whole 'mum and dad' thing above is a little shaky, but I'm not sure what Harry would have called his parents, so I stuck with a safe one. I realize there is a mistake in the previous chapter at the beginning when I wrote the date. I put the month then then day instead of the day and then the month. Sorry about my American slipping through.  
**

**And as always, thanks for reading and please review.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again I own nothing... not even a drivers' permit which I will be getting at the end of this month.**

Winter of that year quickly turned to spring. I remember the first nice day of that year was towards the end of March.

I had woken up once again against my will around six that morning. Remus had never gotten the fact that I preferred to sleep in instead of getting up early. That morning he had woken me up by charming my art supplies to shoot paint at me in fifteen second intervals. It had taken me close to twenty minutes to figure out how to reverse the charm.

I went downstairs when I thought I was finally paint-free to find Remus sitting at the table eating breakfast and reading the _Daily Prophet_. Diane was laughing at Harry who was sitting in his high chair and throwing cereal in the general direction of Remus, sometimes being successful enough to hit him.

"Morning," Diane had greeted me between fits of laughter.

"What's going on here?" I had asked, shooting a death glare at Remus.

"Remus wasn't aware that I had already fed Harry when he was upstairs waking you up so he gave Harry more cereal," Diane replied.

I had laughed along with her, momentarily forgetting the condition in which had woken me up. I knew all to well the mistake in Remus's actions, as it was not the first time Harry had used his food as artillery. I remember back in August of the year before when a similar act had taken place. Remus and I had stayed at the Potters the night before and had woken up around seven that morning. We went downstairs to find Lily feeding Harry pieces of a banana. She had left on an errand shortly before James had woken up, leaving Remus and me to care for Harry. When James had finally woken up and came downstairs, he insisted on feeding Harry. He gave Harry some cereal and the three of us began talking just like any other morning. Some five odd minutes later, I felt something hit the back of my head. I turned slowly around to find little Harry happy and content, throwing pieces of cereal at the three of us. A second one hit my nose as James had said, "Lily has already fed him, hasn't she?" I soon learned to tell James if Harry had already been fed.

"Serves him right," I had muttered darkly after I had stopped laughing.

Remus had looked over the newspaper at me a smirk written on his face.

"You know, yellow does—ow! Harry that was my ear!—match your eyes rather well," he said, ducking yet another piece of cereal thrown by Harry.

I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion.

"Dear, you missed some yellow paint," Diane had explained.

I conjured up a mirror. Sure enough, yellow paint still adorned my hair. With another wave of my wand, it was gone, and I turned back to Remus.

"If someone hadn't thought it would be funny to charm my art supplies to start shooting at me, then I wouldn't have had that problem."

"If someone would get up at a decent hour without help, that someone wouldn't have that problem, either," he had replied before turning his attention back to the newspaper.

"Sirius, you've known him for over ten years, and you still don't know better than to give Remus even the smallest window to pull one over on you?" Diane asked.

"Yeah, yeah," I had replied as I sat down in a chair out of Harry's firing range. "So, what's on the to-do list today?"

"Dumbledore is coming over for tea later today," Remus replied.

"And I needed to be awake at the crack of dawn to get ready for something that won't happen until later today?" I had asked sarcastically.

"No, I just thought it would be funny to charm your art supplies to wake you up."

Harry threw another handful of cereal, which hit Remus in side of the head. Remus put down the newspaper and walked over to Harry.

"Harry, what d'you say we have a little fun with Uncle Padfoot?" Remus suggested, picking the child up with one arm and grabbing his bowl of dry cereal with his other hand.

"Pa'foot!"

"Aw, come on now, Harry," I had tried to weasel my way out of it as Remus brought the child closer. "You don't want to gang up on Uncle Padfoot, do you?"

Harry grabbed a handful of cereal and threw it at me.

"I think he does," Diane said.

"You're gonna pay for this, Lupin," I threatened as I got up and walked towards the cupboard.

"Oh, really, Black?" Remus challenged playfully. "You and what army?"

I whipped out my wand and muttered the correct spell. The cupboard doors flew open and cereal floated in mid-air, ready to strike at my command.

"This army."

* * *

After our cereal war, Diane had made Remus and I clean up the kitchen without magic as she played with Harry and got everything ready for Dumbledore's visit. I remember it was a couple hours past noon when there was a loud pop outside the house followed by a knock on the door.

"Well, hello, Professor," Diane greeted as she let him in.

"Please, Diane, call me Albus, after all, I am no longer a professor to you," Dumbledore said as he was escorted into the living room where Remus, Harry and I were.

Diane had smiled in reply as she took a seat on the couch between Remus and me. Dumbledore took a seat in the arm chair.

"Remus, Sirius," Dumbledore greeted, "and Harry."

"Harry?" I had said bending down to talk to the toddler. "This is Professor Dumbledore. Do you remember him?"

"Dum'ledore?" Harry had repeated.

"Yes, Dumbledore."

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said to the toddler. "You sure do look an awfully lot like your father, but you still have your mother's eyes."

Harry stood up on wobbly legs and walked to Dumbledore, motioning for him to pick him up. Dumbledore had complied and sat Harry on his lap.

"How about some tea?" Diane had suggested as she got up and poured everyone a cup of tea.

"You wanted to discuss something, Albus?" Remus had asked.

Dumbledore took a sip of his before saying anything.

"This is wonderful tea, Diane, and yes, Remus, I did. I wanted to discuss the possibility of Harry interacting with children of his own age."

Remus met my eye.

"I don't think it'll be easy to explain how Harry can cause a toy to levitate or something like that," Remus said slowly.

"No, I meant with magical children," Dumbledore replied. "As you are aware, there are a couple of magical families that don't live too far from here. That's one of the reasons I suggested this place."

"Go on," Remus said.

"The Weasleys live just outside the village, of course," Dumbledore continued, "and the Longbottoms don't live too far from here either."

I met Remus's eye again.

"But they won't see him as anyone but 'The Boy Who Lived'," I had reasoned. "And he's not even two years old yet."

Dumbledore nodded in understanding.

"Take a little while and think about it," Dumbledore said. "But he is eventually going to have to face everyone thinking of him as 'The Boy Who Lived.' It might be beneficial for him to have someone his own age who doesn't think of him as that when the rest of the world does."

Remus and I had nodded in synchronization as a silence fell across the room.

"How about some tea cakes?" Diane suggested, effeciently breaking the silence and ending the previous conversation.

And just as Dumbledore had suggested. we would worry about that within the days to come, but for then, we just enjoyed each others' company and the stories that were told.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the long delayed update, although I am personally surprised that this chapter is up this early. I will be testing this week, so I do not know how much I will get wrote. I'll try to update by next weekend at the latest. My 'American' probably slipped through, so I also apologize for that up front.  
**

**And as always, thanks for reading and please review.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing, except some water-logged tennis balls. The game of tennis is barely possible in the rain, by the way.**

Over the next few months, we kept Dumbledore's advice close to heart. It was a rather pleasant day in late June, however, before we truly considered it.

I woke up around my normal time that morning. Remus was still too weak from his transformation a couple of nights before to actually perform a spell that would wake me up, or so I thought. So, therefore, I was completely unprepared to wake up on top of our roof in the pouring rain that happened to be falling that morning.

It was a rather good thing that we did not have neighbours that lived very close to us or some Obliviators would have had some work to do at our house that morning.

I had never seen the need to apparate to kitchen in my life, even when it was Lily's cooking I was going to eat, but on that morning, I apparated down to the kitchen.

Remus was sitting at the table reading the _Daily Prophet_ and drinking a cup of tea nodding in recognition to whatever Diane was talking about as Harry was mashing his cereal with his fist on the tray of his high chair.

I cleared my throat as an attempt to get some kind of reaction from Remus, who had not even bothered looking in the direction of the _pop! _ my apparation had caused.

He looked up innocently.

"Yes?"

"Is there a reason I was woken up by Mother Nature?" I asked.

"Padfoot, I had no idea men had that problem, too," Remus replied.

"No, you jarvey, I'm talking about the rain. Why was I woken up by the rain?"

"Because you were sleeping in the rain," Remus said.

"Why was I sleeping in the rain?"

"Because your bed was on the roof."

"Why isn't my bed in my room?"

"Because it's on the roof," Remus replied with a smile.

"Who put it on the roof?"

Remus turned back to his paper.

"Moony?"

"Well, look at the time," Remus said looking at his wristwatch. "I'd better get Harry ready to go to Diagon Alley."

"Moony!" I yelled after him as he picked up Harry and walked out of the kitchen ignoring me. I turned to Diane, "He'd better hope I don't wake up before he does any time soon."

"When have you ever woken up before him?" she asked.

I thought back, remembering one vague time that had happened. It was back when we were in our seventh year at Hogwarts. The NEWTS had taken place during the full moon, and Remus was so exhausted the night after the full moon that he slept for fifteen hours straight. He would have continued sleeping too, if James and I had not intervened and charmed his bed to fall out from under him. That was the one time I was thankful that his magic was weaker after full moons as Remus had woken up throwing curses at us. James and I had high-tailed it down to the common room before Remus had a chance to actually grab his wand. His magic might be weaker after a full moon, but even James and I knew that meant nothing when Remus had his wand.

"So Diagon Alley?" I questioned, letting the previous conversation drop for the time being.

* * *

I was standing in the back of Slug and Jiggers Apothecary waiting on Diane and Remus to stop arguing about the best wings to get for some kind of potion I cared not for when I heard my name being called.

"Sirius Black!"

I turned to the woman who had said my name. It was none other than Augusta Longbottom. She was getting on in her age, but then again, who was not? She was a stern-looking woman, reminding me strangely of Professor McGonagall, though I was smarter than to mention it to either woman. She had her graying dark hair pulled back in a clip under her tall vulture-topped hat; her long green dress almost touched the ground but it failed to conceal her steel-toed boots. Around her neck was a fox-fur scarf which was almost the same color as her dark eyes. In one hand was a large red bag; in the other was a small hand belonging to a young boy with a round face, a head full of dark hair, and big dark eyes.

"Augusta," I smiled, as I watched the lady's eyes sweep down to Harry who was clutching my hand.

"And this would have to be Harry," she went on. "I'd know James Potter's son anywhere. Of course, Lily's eyes aren't that mistakable either."

I looked down to the toddler beside of her.

"Neville looks more like his parents than I remember," I said, my chest tightening a little at their fate.

Augusta nodded in sorrow.

"They were heroes," she said.

"They _are_ heroes," I corrected.

She smiled a small smile of gratification.

"Harry," I said bending down to eye level with the child, "this is Mrs. Longbottom and her grandson, Neville."

"Hi," Harry said. "I'm Harry."

"Hi," Neville replied. "I'm Neville."

I stood back up.

"Looks like they're hitting it off rather well," Augusta said.

"So it does," I agreed.

"Well, hello, stranger," Remus said walking up behind me and Harry.

"Remus," Augusta greeted. "Diane."

"Oh, is this Neville?" Diane asked.

"Neville, this is Diane, Remus, and Sirius," Augusta told him, but he was paying no attention as he was talking to Harry.

"And look what we've caused," I said.

Augusta laughed.

"Too bad I've got to get going," she said.

"Why don't you and Neville come for tea some time?" Diane suggested.

"That's a great idea," she agreed. "Just send an owl."

"Will do," Diane said.

"Say goodbye, Neville. You'll see him again," Augusta said. "It was great running into you all."

"You as well," Remus replied.

"Bye," Neville said as his grandmother pulled him away.

"Bye," Harry echoed.

"Looks like Dumbledore wasn't too far off after all," Remus said to us.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to have the Longbottoms over for tea," Diane agreed.

I felt Harry pull on my robes. I looked down at him.

"Can I have some ice c'eam?" he asked.

"Sure, Harry," I replied.

"I swear, that kid is going to turn into ice cream one of these days," Diane said looking pointedly at Remus, "especially if someone keeps bribing him with ice cream."

"What?" he asked innocently. "He didn't tell Sirius how I was going to wake him up this morning, so it worked."

"You planned ahead?" I asked incredulously. "You'd better sleep light, Lupin."

* * *

**A/N: Here is the latest chapter. I have the beginning of the next chapter ready to be wrote, but that's about as far as I've got. It should be up relatively soon, as I am done with testing and almost done with tennis for the season. For the routine apologies: sorry about my 'American' slipping through if it did. You can point it out to me if you want. I should mention that I am aware that Neville has blond hair in the books, but I see him with dark hair. I don't know why, probably because of the movie version. So therefore, he has dark hair in this story. **

**As always, thanks for reading. Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing, except a loss at tennis regionals, and I wish I didn't own that. **

It was the middle of July of that year before Augusta took us up on our tea offer. If I remember correctly, that particular day was a little more unusual than the rest, mainly because of the the fact that I was the one to wake up first, not Remus.

For the first time in a little under five years, I woke up long before Remus, and I could not have planned it any better. After that morning I woke up on the roof, I had been slowly planning my counter attack. My plan had been simple yet effective. I was to sneak into the upstairs bathroom and place a straightforward charm on the bathtub that would cause the tub to spit out water until someone got in it, to where it would turn into a chocolaty-syrup. That was the idea of it, at least.

So when I woke up, and assured myself that I was the only one up, I snuck into the bathroom and put the correct charm on the tub. I quietly snuck back out into the hallway, only to find Harry standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

"Harry, what are you doing up?" I had asked.

"I always wake him up when I get up, Sirius," Diane replied instead from inside his room. "The real question is what are you doing up?"

I had laughed nervously as she walked out of Harry's room sizing me up.

"Uh, you know, I just felt like waking up," I had replied.

"You're up to something, I can tell," Diane had said before walking on past me.

"Uncle Pa'foot?" Harry had asked.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Is Aunt Dee right?"

I smiled down at the child.

"Now would your uncle Padfoot be up to something?"

"Yes."

"Harry, I'm appalled!" I had said in mock surprise.

"Padfoot, you're always up to something," Diane called over her shoulder as she descended the stairs.

I stuck my tongue out at her back as she disappeared out of sight.

"Since the both of you agree I'm always up to something, why don't I get you changed?" I suggested, carrying the toddler back into his room.

* * *

An hour later, Harry had been changed, and we were waiting on Diane to finish cooking breakfast when Remus walked in and made a bee line for the tea Diane had just poured for him.

"Good morning, sunshine!" I greeted.

Remus took one look in my direction and choked on his tea. Diane walked over and beat him in the back.

"Don't act so surprised," I said darkly.

He stopped choking long enough to utter, "It's not an act!" before he began coughing again.

I shot him a dirty look, turning back to the _Daily Prophet_.

"When'd Augusta say she would be over?" I asked over my shoulder trying to keep my mind off what was waiting for Remus.

"Noonish, maybe a little before," Diane answered. "Dear, hold still."

I turned around in my chair, abandoning the newspaper to watch Diane mutter a spell and point her wand at Remus's back. Remus stopped choking instantly.

"And I was getting my hopes up," I said in mock sorrow. "If you didn't stop coughing, then I would have all the black pudding and sausage I wanted."

"Is food all you think about?" Remus asked.

"No, sometimes I think about pulling one over on you."

"Like you would be successful."

I turned back around to the newspaper to hide my knowing smile. _Just about half an hour longer_, I had thought to myself.

* * *

Diane finished cooking breakfast and we all ate in what seemed like record time. There were things to do before the Longbottoms arrived, one of them being getting back at Remus.

I do not exactly remember who it was that got up from the table first. It might have been Remus or possibly Diane. Either way, I was the one who had the after breakfast clean up detail.

About five minutes and lots of swishes of my wand later, I heard a scream from the upstairs bathroom.

_Payback hurts like a basilisk's venom, Moony, _I had thought to myself vengefully running for the stairs and taking them three at a time.

Of course that was before I realized the scream sounded feminine, not masculine and before I realized it was Remus holding Harry in the hallway, not Diane.

_Ah, Doxy eggs! _was my next thought.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! YOU HAD BETTER HOPE THIS TWIT SPELL IS REVERSIBLE!" came the high pitched scream of Diane.

"Pa'foot in t'ouble!" Harry had exclaimed with innocent laughter.

Remus looked from the closed bathroom door and back to me, a sickly sweet smile forming on his face.

"Looks like you're gonna be on not only after breakfast detail but also entire house detail," he had said.

"I'm already on entire house detail," I pointed out.

Diane came out into the hallway at that time with a dressing robe wrapped around her and chocolaty syrup all in her hair where the towel had presumably not wiped it off. She was furious.

"What in the mountainous dwellings of the Hungarian Horntail possessed you to put a spell of the tub?"

I took a step back from Diane's murderous glare.

"Remus!" I exclaimed as though it explained everything. "He's the nitwit that levitated my bed to the roof in the middle of a rain storm with me in it!"

"And so you decided to put a spell on the tub so Diane would get hit with it to get back at me?" Remus asked, his face strained as he fought the urge to laugh.

"No! I put the spell on the tub so _you _would get hit with it, you dimwit!"

"_Is _it reversible?" Diane had asked.

I just smiled weakly at her as an answer.

"Sirius," Diane said warningly, "_is _it reversible?"

"It'll, er, it'll wear off within a specific time," I replied hesitantly.

"A specific time? What kind of time are we talking about?" she asked.

"Er, somewhere between three and four," I replied taking a few steps back.

"Three and four minutes? I can live with that," Diane said, relief slipping into her voice.

"No, dear, three of four _hours_," Remus corrected her with a smirk in my direction.

"You have until ten to run," she threatened, raising her wand.

I did not hesitate to transform into my animagus as she began counting.

"One, two… TEN!"

It did not seem to matter that the numbers three through nine existed as Diane charged at me throwing every curse she could think of as Remus and Harry laughed their heads off.

* * *

It was around eleven when Augusta and Neville showed up at the house. The spell had worn off Diane around an hour before that, but I was still painfully aware of the effects. She had thrown so many curses at me that it was a little uncomfortable to sit in one position for very long; therefore, I was happy for the excuse to get up and move around.

"Well, hello, Augusta, Neville," I greeted them at the door. "Come on in."

"Hello, Sirius," she replied walking through the door with Neville at her side.

"Augusta!" Diane exclaimed on sight of her.

"Diane, how great it is that you invited us," Augusta said.

"It was my pleasure. Now, come along, lunch is almost ready."

I followed the two women and Neville to the kitchen. Remus and Harry sat at the table playing chess with a muggle chess board.

"Harry, look who's here," Remus said directing Harry's attention to the visitors.

"Neville!" Harry exclaimed, crawling off the chair he had been sitting in and walking over to his new friend.

"Sirius, would you be a dear and conjure up another high chair?" Diane asked.

I obliged, whipping out my wand and muttering the correct spell.

"C'mere, Harry," I said to the toddler.

Harry came over to me pulling his new friend with him by the hand.

"Up you go," I said picking the toddler up and placing him in his high chair.

"And, Neville, up you go," Remus said doing the same with Neville.

"Remus, there's tea over by the cupboard of herbs, would you get it?" Diane asked as she and Augusta sat down at the table.

Remus obeyed and sat down at the table at the same time I did.

"So, Augusta, Neville's birthday is coming up, isn't it?" Diane asked.

"The thirtieth," she replied with a nod, "the day before Harry's."

I knew that, of course. Both Neville and Harry were born in the same ward of St. Mungo's with Alice and Lily sharing the same hospital room afterward.

I remember 30 July 1980 as though it was yesterday. It was a couple hours before midnight when I received the news that Lily was going in labor. I floo'ed to the hospital to find Remus arriving there at the same time. The two of us ran full speed ran to the maternity ward where we were greeted by a new born Neville. Frank and Alice were ecstatic holding their green eyed son. The healers told us James would be out in a few minutes, so therein that time I was given the opportunity of holding Neville. We talked with Alice and Frank as the two of us passed baby Neville between us.

Three and a half hours later, James emerged from the door beyond the room we were in with a jubilant look on his face. "It's a boy. We named him Harry." Of course, James being James passed out a second later. Remus handed baby Neville back to Frank and Alice and followed me through the door, the both of us leaving James in the floor so we could get a first look at baby Harry. Lily looked exhausted, but she smiled brightly when we entered. Baby Harry was resting in her arms. "He just conked out, didn't he?" she asked. Remus and I had just smiled in response. "Sirius, we've decided to name you godfather," Lily said handing baby Harry over to me. The one thing I know is that I will never forget the angelic look on baby Harry's face that day, and neither will I forget the annoyance of James when he woke back up and realized he had passed out.

"What do you say we throw both of them a birthday party say the thirty-first, on Harry's birthday?" Diane suggested, breaking through my reverie.

"That's a great idea," Augusta agreed. "It'll give the boys another chance to play."

I had looked over to 'the boys.' The two of them, having been given dry cereal, were throwing pieces of cereal at each other and laughing in their high pitched laughs having the time of their lives. I smiled, knowing that almost two years before that, I would have never thought I would be sitting in that kitchen with those people watching Harry and Neville become the friends they were destined to be.

* * *

Lunch passed quickly and before I knew it Augusta and Neville were leaving.

"I'll owl you in a couple of days and we'll get together then," Diane said as we walked our guest to the door.

"That sounds great," Augusta had said to her before looking over at Neville. "Say goodbye, dear. You'll be back over here next week."

Neville looked at Harry.

"Bye," the boys said at the same time.

"You know, Augusta," Remus said, "a week seems like forever for a little kid."

"Too right you are, Remus," Augusta had agreed with a laugh.

Augusta offered her hand to Neville who took it immediately.

"Goodbye," she bade before the two walked down the walk to the old muggle car she drove there.

We watched them drive off down the road in the direction of their house before we went back inside.

"Oh, and Sirius, I believe it's your turn to clean up the kitchen yet again," Diane had said before the door closed.

I looked sideways at her questioningly.

"What? _You _were the one who put that charm on the tub, not Remus," she pointed out.

I just sighed, knowing better than to argue. Sometimes that woman's memory was too good for her own good.

* * *

Later on that night, after I had cleaned both the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom without magic _and _beat Remus at a game of exploding snap, I decided to turn in for the night. Harry had been put to sleep an hour or two ago so I did not have to worry about going through that before I could get to sleep myself.

I walked into my room, dimly lit by the sliver of the first quarter moon. I remember, it might have well been pitch black, because I could not see anything. I was too lazy to reach for my wand and use its light to assist me, so it was no surprise that yet again my idiocy got the better of me.

It was no sooner than I had laid down in my bed that I realized the oversight in my actions. By my failure to pull out my wand and say a simple little spell, I had opened myself up for attack. My bed, instead of supporting my weight, had swallowed me whole. I kicked and I beat and I pulled out my wand, but I just could not break the spell. Somewhere in between my muffled screams and the laughter that followed, I heard the counter curse recited.

I fell through my bed. Rolling out from under it, I saw Remus and Diane standing in the doorway of my now-lit room. Remus and Diane both started laughing almost immediately.

I looked over at the mirror on the far side of the wall and saw the cause of Remus and Diane's laughter: I was covered in feathers head-to-toe. To make matters worse, it looked as though I had just had a fight with one of Hagrid's chickens and lost.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up," I muttered darkly.

Remus had almost stopped laughing by then, saying to me, "So you can _fall_ to sleep."

I growled deep in my throat, getting up and charging at Remus. He caught on about a second before I hit him, having enough time to attempt to run away.

It was a couple more hours before any of us, save Harry, got any sleep.

* * *

**A/N: It took a while longer to update, but it is almost twice the length of the previous chapters at the request of DolphinDreamer24-7. I apologize yet again for my American slip-ups, as I am sure there are probably a few in here. I apologize if I missed something on that end, also. Oh, and the next chapter could _possibly_ be up by tomorrow, but doubtfully Sunday. **

**Review and tell me what you think, and if you like the longer or shorter chapters. **

**Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I own nothing, but you should know that by now. **

We had decided to have Neville and Harry's birthday party on the thirtieth of July which was on Neville's actual birthday. That did not bother Harry, though, because that meant he got to open his birthday presents a day earlier.

I woke that morning to sunny skies and some mysterious object floating above my head. It was dark and circular in the shape of a muggle water balloon, not to mention full of something, though I was not sure what that something was. Than again, I was not sure if I really wanted to know what it was. I reached for my wand that I had set on my bedside table the night before just like any other night, and when I came up empty, I knew I was in a snuff box just like the one my 'dear' old mum kept in that forsaken house. No sooner than I realized that, it fell. The warmth of the liquid hit me square in the face, and I immediately knew it was none other than butterbeer.

I shot straight up in my bed and looked around. My door was still shut, though, so whoever it was that had done this had been transported through the walls or floor of my bedroom.

I got out of my bed fuming and not hesitating to go downstairs to the kitchen to find the culprit.

Harry was sitting in his high chair throwing his left over cereal in the direction of a very guilty look Remus. Diane was standing at her cauldron putting random herbs into it.

"Good morning, Sirius," Diane had greeted me as soon as I stormed through the door.

Remus looked up from his crossword, smiling.

"You weren't thirsty, were you, Padfoot?" he had asked sarcastically.

"No, but I do _quite_ appreciate the sentiment, Moony," I said venomously.

Remus raised his eye brows in question.

"Don't pretend like you didn't do it."

"OK," Remus said, "but I didn't do it. I'm innocent."

"There's not an innocent bone in your body."

Remus inclined his head and returned his attention back to his crossword.

"Ow! Harry!" I complained when a piece of cereal bounced off my nose.

* * *

It was a couple hours before the sun set when Augusta and Neville arrived. Diane had lunch fixed by then and so we ate as soon as they arrived.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Augusta," Remus began as he put a couple of pieces of banana on Harry's plate. "How are Alice and Frank doing?"

I remember every face, save Harry and Neville's, clouded over.

"It's one day at a time," she answered. "They don't know who they are, where they're at, or even that they have a son."

She looked in Neville's direction who was obliviously stealing a cracker from Harry's plate.

We sat in silence for a long minute, none of us knowing what to say next. Leave it to Remus to ask the hard questions.

"P'esents!" Harry and Neville had said in unison breaking our silence.

"Presents?" I repeated. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about these unmentionable things, would you, Moony?"

"No I do not, Padfoot," Remus agreed playing along.

"My birfday's tomorrow," Harry said.

"You're birthday? Surely not," I said with a grin.

"Uh-huh, and Nebille says his birfday's today," Harry pointed out.

"Neville's birthday? I've never heard of such," Remus teased.

"Moo'ey," Harry had complained. "Aunt Dee, Uncle Moo'ey and Pa'foot are being mean."

"Remus, Sirius, you guys should be ashamed of yourselves," Diane had mock scolded us.

"Moony, she says we _should_ be ashamed of us," I had said.

"But she knows we aren't," Remus had finished.

Diane and Augusta just rolled their eyes.

"P'esents?" Harry had repeated.

"OK, presents," Remus had relented, "but you must answer a question."

"OK," Harry had agreed.

"Would your uncle Moony drop a balloon filled with butterbeer on your uncle Padfoot?"

"Yes," the two toddles had answered.

"See, Moony? Even those two know there isn't an innocent bone in your body," I had said victoriously.

Remus just sighed.

"Presents," he gave in.

Remus lifted Harry out of his high chair as I done the same with Neville and all of us went into the lounge. Remus and I sat on the sofa with Neville and Harry between us while Diane and Augusta sat in the arm chairs.

With a swish of my wand, a pile of presents appeared on the small table in front of the couch. I reached for the first one handing in to Harry and Remus did the same for Neville. They were both from Diane. She got both of them a picture book with a charm that would pronounce the words for them and have them to repeat it.

"It's never too young to learn to read," Remus had commented.

"No, Moony, it's never too early to learn to fly," I had corrected him.

Remus just rolled his eyes reaching for the next present. He gave it to Neville as I gave one to Harry. They were from each other. Neville had given Harry a miniature broom stick that could fit in the palm of his hand and soared around. While Harry had given Neville a small potted Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant.

I prodded Remus in the side saying, "See? Even Neville knows it's never too early to learn to fly."

Remus ignored my comment and reached for the third present which he handed to Neville. I gave Harry his, and the two immediately tore the wrapping paper off of them. Both of them had received a box chocolate frogs from Augusta.

"Hmm, I think Augusta decided to steal your quaffle, Mister Chocolate Lover," I had commented.

"Sorry, Remus," Augusta said apologetically.

"I wasn't holding it very long anyways," Remus said.

Remus handed a box to Harry and Neville, and I would have bet a lot of money right then and there that I knew what was in it. I was not let down, either. Remus had gotten both of them their very first set of Wizard's Chess.

"Aw, Moony," I complained. "You just had to corrupt them at an early age, didn't you?"

"Well, let's see what you got them," he challenged.

I gave Neville and Harry the last two presents while trying to hide the smile on my face. If Diane, or Augusta for that matter, knew what I had given them in advance, they would have lit my butt on fire with curses.

"Sirius Orion Black," Diane said slowly realizing what the presents were almost immediately. "Tell me you did not."

I just smiled in response.

"Dungbombs?" Diane went on. "Don't you think they're a little too young to be handling these?"

"Relax, would ya?" I said indignantly. "They're not true dungbombs; they're specifically designed for toddlers."

"What were you thinking?" she asked.

"That it's never too young for them to learn the art of pranking," I said, borrowing Remus's earlier line.

"Were you born yesterday?" Diane shrieked.

I opened my mouth to defend myself when I heard laughter erupt. I looked to my right. Remus was thrashing about in his seat, clutching his side with his arm, with tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks. I looked to my left and saw Augusta was in about the same predicament.

Diane huffed, giving up her plight against me, and began to laugh also.

"Uncle Pa'foot?" Harry had asked, reaching across Neville and pulling on my robes.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Are all old people qu'azy?"

I paused for a second in thought.

"No, Harry, just the ones who know Moony."

* * *

Augusta and Neville left a couple hours later that night, promising to come by and visit in a few more days. It was Diane's turn to get Harry ready for bed so while she was off doing that, Remus was instructed to put away all of Harry's presents and to stay away from the chocolate frogs. Remus probably would not have listened if it had not been for Diane's rather blunt promise to hex him to the other side of the moon if he bothered them.

It was the perfect time, I realized, to finally pull a couple over on both of them. While Diane was in Harry's bedroom and Remus was down in the lounge, I meandered up to their bedroom.

It was a rather good thing that Augusta and Remus had found Diane's earlier row with so funny or I would have not been moving very comfortably or able to perform the very spell I was aiming for. It was a simple transfiguration spell that I placed on their bedroom floor that would cause it to turn into mush whenever one of the occupants walked in, but if Harry or I walked in, it would be perfectly fine.

"Sirius, you up here?" Remus's voice floated up the stairs.

I carefully stepped out of their room and to the doorway of my own before answering, "Huh? Oh yeah. What do you need?"

"You left your sketch pad down here," he answered. "Do you want me to bring it up?"

"No, that's fine," I said. "I have to go back down there anyways."

Remus appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Alright," he said walking into Harry's room where Diane still was.

I almost laughed at my ingenious plan as I went downstairs. I went into the kitchen first, opening up the first cupboard and finding Harry's box of chocolate frogs. With a swish of my wand, I transported it up to Remus and Diane's room.

_He will think twice about dropping butterbeer filled balloons on me to wake me up, _I had thought to myself as I walked into the lounge and retrieved my sketchbook.

I was on the fifth step when I heard Diane scream.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"

You would think my name is a curse word from all the times it is said after something goes wrong.

I strolled on up the stairs, taking my time. When I reached the door to their room, I could not contain my laughter. I went to my knees laughing.

"Uncle Pa'foot?" Harry asked, standing in the middle of their room, "why are Aunt Dee and Uncle Moo'ey having t'ouble standing?"

That just made me laugh harder, but after a few minutes I was able to answer Harry's question.

"Sometimes, Harry, adults have one too many."

"Sirius Orion Black, you had better hope this is reversible!" Remus's threat would have been more effective had he not been up to his waist in his bedroom floor.

"What do you mean I'd better hope this is reversible?" I had asked walking into their room. "I'm having no trouble walking across your floor."

"You ba—" Remus began.

"Uh-uh-uh! There are children in the room!" I reprimanded him.

"Banshee," he finished.

"At least I'm not being swallowed by the floor of my bedroom," I pointed out. "Come on, Harry, let's go to bed."

I had held out my hand for Harry. He took it and the two of us walked out of their room.

"Night, Pa'foot."

"Goodnight, Harry," I had said tucking him in before walking back over to Remus and Diane's room and standing in their doorway.

"Would you reverse this effin spell?" Diane asked.

I bit back a laugh at the sight of her up to her shoulders in her bedroom floor.

"What's the magic word?" I had asked.

"You're a complete jerk?" I heard Remus mutter.

I chose to ignore him.

"Please?" Diane tried.

I pulled my wand from the waistband of my trousers and said the correct spell. Remus and Diane shot up out of their floor like a firework and fell back onto the floor with a loud _clump!_

"If you ever do that again…" Diane threatened.

"If I ever do that again I will not reverse the spell until after you've calmed down and sworn an unbreakable vow that you will not cause any harm whatsoever to me," I had replied before backing out of the room. "Goodnight."

I made it all the way to my bed before I heard Remus's name called.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN!" I heard Diane's voice shriek and I was almost certain she had found the chocolate frogs.

I ran back across the hall, hoping that by appearing to be curious I would keep suspicion away from me.

"I specifically instructed you stay away from Harry's chocolate frogs!" she scolded.

"I didn't touch them, I swear!" he had said in defense throwing his arms up in innocence. "I put them up, that's all."

"Then how do you explain the fact that they are on your bedside table?" Diane asked. "Did they magically grow legs and walk up here?"

"They already have legs, Diane," I pointed out with a laugh.

Diane sent a glare my way.

"Not my point," she said to me before returning her attention back to Remus.

"Why don't you people ever believe my innocence?" Remus had asked sardonically. "Padfoot, you blamed me for the butterbeer balloon this morning, and now, Diane, you're blaming me for trying to eat Harry's chocolate frogs! I'm telling you guys it isn't me!"

"Wait," I said. "You mean to tell me that you really didn't levitate a balloon filled with butterbeer above my bed this morning and proceed to wake me up with it?"

Remus shook his head to the negative.

"When have you ever known me to waste perfectly good butterbeer?" he pointed out.

I stopped to ponder this, and then it struck me.

"You sneaky little poltergeist!" I turned to Diane. "You let me go on believing it was Remus who had it out for me this morning."

Diane smiled.

"You weren't too keen on thinking it wasn't Remus so who am I to correct your ways?"

I barked out a laugh.

"That was very… Marauder-ish of you," I commented. "I bow to you."

"Hold it," Diane said slowly. "If it really wasn't Remus who done the entire butterbeer balloon thing this morning, than it really wasn't Remus who stole Harry's chocolate frogs…"

I backed out of the room faking a yawn.

"Oh, gosh, would you look at the time. I'd better some sleep!"

And for the fifth time that day, Diane said my entire name.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! JUST BECAUSE I MADE THE THREAT TO REMUS DOESN'T MEAN I WON'T CARRY IT THROUGH ON YOU!"

Needless to say, it was a while before I got to sleep that night and even longer before I could move around comfortably.

* * *

**A/N: OK, so this is probably the fastest I have ever updated, but I had a lot of free time this weekend. Sorry about my 'American' slip ups, and my slip ups in general.**

**Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Nine chapters in and I still don't own anything... I guess that means I never will... Oh well, I'll just borrow them then.**

July ended with Harry's birthday, which was relatively uneventful save Remus nearly blowing up the kitchen. August came and passed quickly taking September and most of October with it.

I woke up early the morning of 31 October 1982 by my own standards for the first time in a long time. There was no balloon filled with butterbeer floating above my head, no paint shooting at me from my art supplies, and no rain hitting me in the face from a downpour; I just woke up.

The house was quiet, somber-ishly quiet. For a few minutes, I myself had wondered about the strange atmosphere in which was surrounding me. That was until I looked over at the calendar.

31 October 1982, known worldwide as Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, Allantide, Samhain, or Beltane, but known to the majority of the magical community as the greatest most tragic day in modern history: the downfall of Lord Voldemort at the small hands of Harry Potter having just been orphaned minutes, maybe even seconds, before. 31 October 1982, one year since the day my life as I knew changed forever.

Merlin knows how long I stood there staring at the calendar; it might have been a few seconds or quite possibly a few minutes.

"Sirius, are you up?" Diane had called up the stairs knocking me out of my trance.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'll be down there in a minute."

I threw another glance at the calendar before I made my way out of my room and down the stairs. Just as I stepped onto the landing, there was a knock on the door.

"Would you get that, Sirius?" Diane called from the kitchen.

I walked over to the door and opened it. Augusta and Neville stood on the steps.

"Good morning, Sirius," she had greeted. "We thought you all could do for some company."

I had never really thought about wanting the company of anyone until Augusta suggested it at that moment in time.

I nodded, not knowing what to say, and let them in. Augusta engulfed me in a hug, and for a short second I hesitated before hugging her back.

"Today was yesterday's tomorrow," she muttered, letting me go.

For a few seconds, I was lost at what she meant.

"Oh, Diane, let me help you with that," Augusta said as she walked into the kitchen.

I was following Neville and her into the kitchen when the realization dawned on me: Augusta meant James and Lily would be proud of how everything had turned out. They would have been happy that they had not died in vain, and that their son would be raised by their best friends to have the life they would not have been able to give him as long as Voldemort was at power.

I smiled sorrowfully, taking a seat at the table. Diane levitated the last of our breakfast on the table before she sat down herself.

We began dishing out our food and ate in silence. Harry and Neville were in their high chairs between Remus and me and had both been given dry cereal and slices of bananas to eat at their hearts' content.

It was not an awkward silence filled with stolen glances at everyone else or one of those silences in which you are too infuriated to talk to the other people. It was just a comfortable silence as each of us reflected on the year that had just passed and relaxed within the companionship of those around us at that moment.

I remember it was Diane who broke the silence first.

"Remus, dear, what did you do to my pan of fried sausages?"

Remus looked up from stabbing his fried tomatoes.

"Tell me you didn't," she had continued at his confused expression.

"Didn't what?"

"Remus John Lupin, how dare you put dungbombs in my fried sausages!" she scolded him.

"It wasn't me," he said, throwing his arms up in innocence.

I looked away from Remus to the pan of sausages. Diane was right: someone had dropped a dungbomb or two in it. The once delicious smelling sausages were no longer so as they became engulfed in the foul-smelling smoke from the dungbomb.

"You blame me for everything," Remus continued, "like the other day when Padfoot charmed your socks to repeat everything you said in a quidditch announcer's voice. I had nothing to do with it and you still blamed me."

I do have to admit, that was one of my more brilliant moments. Remus and I had spent the better part of three weeks talking about the big game between the Vrasta Vultures and the Grodzisk Goblins. Diane had constantly complained that we talked about nothing but quidditch, and when we did not listen to that, she magically banned the subject of quidditch from the house for Remus and me. In retaliation, I charmed her socks to, as Remus correctly recalled, repeat everything she said in a quidditch announcer's voice. She tried for days to lift the charm, before finally admitting defeat and lifting the ban of quidditch on Remus and me. A couple hours later, most of which I spent as a transfigured vase, I also lifted the charm on her socks.

Diane had turned to me by that time.

"Don't look at me," I said. "I used the last of my dungbombs on Moony the other morning when I dropped them in his cupboard."

"And I honestly wondered why all my robes smelled so horribly."

I smiled innocently at Remus, who threw a piece of toast at me, which I caught with my left hand. I took a bite of it as something caught my eye.

"Er, Diane," I said slowly interrupting her before she had a chance to chew me out for it. "You might want to take a closer look at those dungbombs."

Diane gave me a look of toleration. I nodded towards the pan of sausages. She huffed, before looking.

"What you call dungbombs isn't dungbombs," I said.

"I can see that now, Sirius," Diane snapped.

"What?" Remus asked as he took a closer look. "Oh, those are the dungbombs you gave Harry and Neville for their birthdays a couple months ago."

I nodded, not completely sure if Diane had remembered before that comment that I had been the one to give them that. To my surprise, however, she started laughing. Augusta joined in as well, and before long even Remus and I had stopped looking at each other in confusion and laughed along with them.

"I guess the little tykes thought we could use some comic relief," Remus said when everyone had stopped laughing.

We finished eating soon thereafter and decided that it would be best to move into the lounge to talk instead of talking over our plates.

"You can clean up, Sirius," Diane said, picking up Harry before I had the chance to.

"Huh? I cleaned up last time," I said. "It's Moony's turn."

"Moony isn't the one who gave the children dungbombs for their birthday," she replied as they walked out of the kitchen.

I looked around the kitchen.

_Curse Moony and his big mouth,_ I thought to myself before pulling my wand out of the waistband of my trousers.

* * *

Laughter erupted from the lounge a second before I walked in and sat down on the sofa beside Remus. I gave him a questioning look. He met it with a just as clueless one.

"Women and their handbags," was his reply.

I smiled at Remus's lack of knowledge and looked around the room for Neville and Harry. They were sitting on the other side of Remus playing chess with Remus's muggle set. Actually, they were moving the pieces around trying to mimic Remus's previous actions.

"Horsie?" Neville asked holding up the knight.

Harry pointed to a white square. Neville set the piece down.

I smiled, memories of Remus and James playing chess in the common room flashing to the forefront of my mind.

The room went quiet again. It was the same quiet that had been present in the kitchen as well. I knew the loss of James and Lily was exceptionally close to everyone's hearts on that day, but looking back, I realize that it was not as hard to think about them as I had originally thought it was going to be.

"Do you guys know how James and I became friends?" I heard my voice asking.

Everyone turned their attention to me, save Harry and Neville who were still moving around the pieces on the chess board. They waited patiently as I gathered my wits to tell them the story that even Remus had scarcely heard.

"It was the first of September nineteen seventy-one, our first day of Hogwarts. I was so eager to get away from my 'dear' old mum that I nearly knocked down a black haired boy who had been trying to slip a dungbomb into the pocket of an elderly man's robe. He nearly fell off balance before I steadied him and took the dungbomb from his hand and slipped it into the man's pocket. When I started walking away, he finally extracted himself from his family's last minute grasp and followed me. At first, I didn't know what to make of him, but then he says one thing and I knew we were going to be best friends. "Thanks, mate, I'd been trying to pull one over on Uncle Paul for ages." I remember my response was laughter, more so when he went on to tell me that his uncle Paul had sprinkled some Belch Powder on his Ice Mice before one of his mum's formal family dinners. He had asid that that didn't end too well..."

Laughter exploded in the room, efficiently destroying the silence. When it died down, Remus started to share his first memory of James.

"The first time I met James, Sirius had gone up front to con the food trolley lady for some more liquorice wands. Somehow the compartment I originally sat in got taken over by a giggling group of second year girls, so needless to say, I fled it pretty quickly. I was in the midst of finding another compartment when James stuck his head out of his. The train had jolted at that moment in time, causing me to fall on my bum right in front of him and my trunk to open. James laughed a couple of times before holding out his hand to help me up. "You play chess?" he had asked when he caught sight of the tattered board in my trunk. He had gotten so distracted that he let go of my hand causing me to fall back down. "Oh, sorry, mate," he had apologized."

"I came back about five minutes later to find those two playing a ferocious game of chess," I finished for him.

"That was the first chess game I'd lost to James Potter out of many to come," Remus said.

"I don't exactly remember the first time I met James," Diane had said as she took her turn, "but I do remember the first time I met Lily. It was the night of the sorting, and we were being escorted up to the Gryffindor common rooms by the prefects when we caught our first sight of the ghosts. "Oh, dear," was the first thing that had come out of my mouth. Lily just looked at me with a comforting smile on her face and asked, "If we fear what we can see, how do we react to what we can't see?" I can still to this day remember the self-assured look on her face, but the trace of fear in her eyes. I'm not surprised that that is just the first of many memories of Lily's courage that I have."

I had smiled in response to Diane's story, knowing that Lily had put the entire world first because she thought that if she could make even one person's life better then she deserved the happiness in her own.

The three of us looked at Augusta.

"Yes, I do remember the first time I met Lily and James," she replied to our expectant looks. "It was late summer nineteen seventy-eight, just shortly before they were married. Dumbledore had called an Order meeting to discuss our next move against Voldemort, and I had arrived at the headquarters early that evening so that I could talk with Dorcas Meadowes about the possibility of enhancing our wards on main locations. I remember that I was met at the entrance by a young couple being walked to the door by the Prewett brothers. The four of them were joking and carrying on and having a good time until James accidentally stepped on Lily's foot as they were walking backwards. Lily dressed him down for that, even saying, and I quote, "if you step on my foot at the wedding I will hex you so much that even Padfoot and Moony together can't undo it!" James had smiled at his fiancé, before turning around and nearly knocking me over. His eyes got as wide as an owl's as he stepped back, only to step on Lily's foot again. "James Potter!" she had exclaimed. I can still remember pitying the young man before introducing myself. When I showed up at the wedding a couple weeks later, James watched himself the entire time Lily and him danced."

"I remember James freaking out before the wedding," I said. "He kept going on about messing up his vows or doing stupid things like that when he finally asked, "What if I step on her feet?" Moony and I had a kick out of that one."

Remus laughed at the memory along with me as we spent the better part of the day retelling our most favorite times with James and Lily.

* * *

Augusta and Neville left shortly after nightfall that night, along with one of the knights Harry and Neville had been playing with.

"Harry, why did you give Neville a knight?" I had asked the child as Remus and I put him to sleep.

Harry had looked up at the two of us through heavy eyelids, answering as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "He says mons'ers live un'er his bed. Horsie keeps him safe."

I had to close my eyes to hold back the tears. There was no doubt in my mind that Harry was the son of James and Lily.

"Goodnight, Harry," Remus and I had said at the same time.

"Night, Pa'foot. Night, Moo'ey."

Remus and I parted ways at the door of Harry's room.

"And you said he was too young to learn chess," Remus said.

"But you were the one who said, "Stupid horsie." That is if I recall correctly," I replied.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter turned out to be slightly angst, but I couldn't seem to get it to be written any other way. I'm not exactly satisfied with the entire chapter, but this is about as good as I can get it unfortunately. With that in mind, my 'American' probably slipped through, and so I apologize up front yet again. **

**The quidditch teams mentioned above are courtesy of Quidditch Through the Ages by dear JK under the pseudonym of Kennilworthy. Also the different names of 31 October are courtesy of wikipedia.  
**

**Please Review.  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Nothing has changed since the last chapter. I still own nothing; however, I do now own the 110% award for tennis so does that count?**

15 November of that year was rather interesting day in which I ended up having to stay up most of the night reversing a hex on the sofa in the lounge. Although Diane had initially blamed it on Remus, he profusely denied the accusation. As a result, she then blamed me. I denied it as well, but she reasoned that it could not have been anyone else. Truth be told, I _was _a little let down that I could not take credit for the fantastic wand work. After finally persuading Diane, and even though she loved Remus dearly, I convinced her to cast a spell to see which wand was responsible for the hex. As it turned out, it did not do me any good. My wand, by some unknown reason, had been the culprit after all; therefore, I had the misfortune to stay up until the hex was removed.

It _was_ a rather ingenious hex, if I do say so myself. Every time you went to sit down on the sofa, the cushions would fly up and chase you out of the room and basically keep everyone out of the lounge for a good fifteen or twenty minutes. The hex itself was not too elaborate or complex or anything, but it sure did get the best of Remus.

We had just finished eating dinner that night, and Remus and I were kicked out of the kitchen so that Diane could work on a sleeping potion. We went into the lounge where Harry was playing with Remus's muggle chess set. I sat down in the arm chair with full intentions of continuing my sketch of the lake at Hogwarts while Remus dropped onto the sofa with a book in his hand.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cushions fly up and Remus's limbs flail in every direction. I looked up, laughter tugging at my lips, only to be met with a cushion coming straight for my face. I ducked, but all too late as it hit me square in the face with enough force to knock me and the armchair backwards. My sketchpad flew up from my lap and smacked me in the face, and when I moved it, I saw the cushion heading for me again. I reached for my wand, and when I came up empty, I rolled out of the way of the cushion and grabbed Harry on my way out of the lounge.

Diane had abandoned her potion by then and had gone to the edge of the kitchen to see what was causing all the commotion. I nearly knocked her over on my way to safety, but she did not seem to notice. I do not ever remember Diane laughing harder than she did that day as she watched her fiancée get cornered and attacked in the lounge by some rogue sofa cushions. I even joined in with her laughter when I was certain Remus was not coming out of that room for a while.

After about fifteen minutes of Remus's old tactic of ducking and dodging whenever necessary, he abandoned it, grabbing my sketchpad to use as a beater's bat. That worked for a while, but pretty soon there afterward, the cushions allied with his muggle chess pieces. Though the chess pieces only reached an altitude around Remus's knees, I knew and he knew he was outnumbered.

"Padfoot, reverse this idiotic thing!" Remus shouted at me as he went down, the double attack of the cushions paired with the chess pieces being too much.

He had changed his tactics by then again, resorting to using my sketchpad as a shield.

"I can't, Moony," I had called back to him. "I didn't cast it!"

"Well, then do something!"

"Me do something? You're a wizard as well," I had said between fits of laughter. "You do something."

"Oh yeah," Remus said as an afterthought before whipping out his wand.

Everything in the room froze at Remus's spell. He then threw my sketchpad across the room and made a break for the kitchen, ducking under the cushion suspended in the air in front of the door.

We had all shared a look and when I turned back to look in the lounge, everything was back in its place as though it had not tried to kill Remus or me minutes beforehand.

I looked back at Remus.

"Did my sketch pad serve you justifiably?"

He just looked at me with confusion clearly written on his face.

"I mean, first it was a bat and then it was a shield."

"Well, at least it got _some_ good use out of it," he replied with a smirk.

I had narrowed my eyes in response.

"Just for that, Moony…"

I changed into my animagus and charged for him, knocking him into the lounge.

* * *

It was a little while later when I finally convinced Diane to cast the spell on our wands.

I had not seen my wand for a few hours so I was certain it could not have been my wand, but I initially did not let Remus and Diane in on that tidbit of information.

We were in the kitchen arguing on who should go in and reverse the hex after we had already put Harry to bed.

"Diane, it honestly couldn't have been me," I had denied yet again.

"And why would that be?" Diane had challenged.

"Because…" I looked to Remus and then back to Diane. "Because I have not seen my wand in four or five hours."

"Well, that's convenient, Padfoot," Remus said. "_Accio Padfoot's wand!_"

My wand flew through the door that led to the lounge.

"I swear I dunno why it was in there," I said.

"I do," Diane had said, laying my wand beside of Remus's on the table mentally before casting the spell on them.

"Isn't the wand supposed to glow a bright red?" Remus asked, and at Diane's nod continued, "Then what would you call that? Crimson?"

Diane looked at my wand.

"Gryffindor red," she replied.

"You guys are just color blind," I had said. "That's not red, that's a very dark shade of orange."

"This is coming from someone who can turn into a dog at will," Remus muttered to Diane.

She laughed before addressing me.

"I want this spell reversed before you go to sleep tonight, Sirius."

I mock-saluted her as she walked out of the kitchen.

"You'd better sleep with one eye open, Moony," I had threatened.

"Hey, at least I'll get some sleep," he had replied with a smirk before following Diane out of the room.

I sighed, picking up my wand from the table.

* * *

It was rather late when I reversed the spell that night, but I decided to pull one over on Remus anyway.

He had to go to work the next day around eight so I decided to mess with his mind. I put a charm on every clock in the entire house to read three hours later than what it really was, but only for Remus. If Diane or Harry or I looked at the same clocks, they would read the correct time.

When I was satisfied that with my wand work, I went to bed only to wake up three hours later by a frantic Remus.

"What do you mean I don't know what I'm talking about?" His voice carried into my room from his and Diane's.

"Remus, dear, it's only six-thirty," Diane had replied.

"Diane, what are you talking about? It's nine-thirty! I'm late for work!"

I had laughed to myself before rolling out of bed and walking towards their voices. Remus was standing at his wardrobe looking as though he had just stepped off a broom and failed to flatten his robes or hair. Diane was standing on the other side of the room with her arms crossed looking both confused and entertained.

"Moony, where's the fire? You didn't attempt to cook again, did you?"

He turned to me.

"I'm late for work because _someone_ came in here last night and messed with my spell to wake me up!"

I laughed once before putting on the most innocent face I could muster.

"Well, I know it wasn't me this time," I had said.

He looked at me wildly.

"What? It really wasn't me! I would even pass that spell test."

Remus snorted in disbelief. I backed out of the room.

"So you really didn't attempt to cook this time?" I had called over my shoulder.

Something flew just beside of my ear in response.

"Just making sure it's safe to go into the kitchen," I continued when I made sure I was out of firing range.

Remus stepped out of his room and threw a clothes hanger at me, nailing me in the back of the head.

"I never knew he had _that_ good of an aim," I muttered to myself.

* * *

Harry and I were sitting in the hex-free lounge when Remus came sprinting down the stairs.

"You spawn of a basilisk," he had growled.

I looked up from my almost completed sketch of the lake.

"Yes, I am talking about you, Sirius Orion Black!"

"I never touched your alarm spell," I said.

"No, you just touched every clock in the house!"

I raised my eyebrows at him questioningly.

"Don't act so surprised."

I smiled at him before turning my attention back to my sketch. Remus pulled out his wand, and the next thing I knew my sketchpad was slapping me in the face. Harry laughed from his place in the floor beside of the sofa as I reached for my wand, saying the counter curse mentally.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe the little stunt you pulled this morning."

"It was last night, technically."

"So you _do _admit to your crimes in the past twenty-four hours?"

"If by 'crimes' you mean charming every clock in the house to tell you the wrong time, then yes."

"I was also talking about the hex on the sofa last night," Remus said.

"Yeah, that wasn't me."

"You were caught red-wanded, and you still deny the truth!"

"I'm telling you I didn't put the hex on the sofa!"

"If you didn't, then who did?" Remus had challenged.

"Beats me; maybe it was you," I said. "Maybe you stole my wand to make it look like it was me because you knew Diane was going to cast that spell."

"Or maybe it was you trying to pawn off the blame on me," Remus replied.

"Do you think I would have the patience to do something like that?"

"Yeah," Diane had answered for Remus as she walked into the room.

"Oh, come on, give me a little credit," I complained.

"OK, we'll give you the credit of that hex last night," Diane said.

"I didn't mean that."

Diane laughed in response, cautiously taking a seat on the sofa. After seeing it was no longer volatile, Remus followed suit. I soon returned my attention to my sketch after I saw I was fighting a losing game. Diane picked up a potion magazine off the coffee table in front of the couch as Remus grabbed the book he had been reading and placed his wand on the arm of the sofa.

Minutes passed by with Harry being the only one to break the comfortable silence that had enveloped the room. I was just putting the finishing touches on my sketch when I heard Remus's yelp of surprise. I looked up to see the cushions attack yet again, this time also attacking Diane.

"I thought you got rid of this!" Diane had yelled.

"I did!" I replied looking around frantically.

That is when I saw the real cause of the entire fiasco: Harry. Clutched in his small hands was none other than Remus's wand which was pointed ever-so-slightly towards the sofa.

Upon the discovery, I laughed. Diane and Remus temporarily abandoned their struggle against the cushions to look at me questioningly before Diane was hit in the back of her head by one of the cushions.

"Would you stop laughing like a maniac and reverse your hex?!" Remus had asked.

"I would if it had been mine."

"Sirius, don't start this again," Diane said.

"I'm not stating anything, Diane," I had replied before laughter overtook me yet again.

"Sirius!" Diane exclaimed.

I stopped laughing long enough to say, "You guys are getting your butts kicked by a twenty-eight month old!"

"What?" Diane said sharply, pausing again to look at Harry.

Harry smiled innocently at her.

"Harry," Diane had sighed.

"Padfoot, a little help here?" Remus had asked from his fight against two cushions.

"Spoilsport," I muttered, but lifted the hex nonetheless.

The cushions immediately fell to the ground as Diane spoke to Harry again.

"Harry, whose wand have you got?"

"Moo'ey's," the child replied.

I smiled wickedly at Remus.

"See, Moony, it really wasn't me."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled.

Diane went over and picked Harry up, retrieving Remus's wand at the same time and handing it to him.

"Did you do that?" she had asked him.

He enthusiastically nodded.

"What about last night? Were you the one who done it then as well?"

He nodded again.

"And you thought he was just a pretty face," I said.

Remus gave me a look.

"What? You guys didn't believe me last night when I said it wasn't me," I replied.

"Yes, but if I recall correctly, it was _your _wand," Remus pointed out.

"Last night, maybe, but it was _your_ wand this time."

Remus stuck his tongue out at me.

"How did someone as young as Harry do all this?" Diane had asked, interrupting our banter.

"It's 'cause I'm his godfather," I replied.

Remus chucked a cushion at me.

"It's not surprising that he accomplished such at feat at his age, especially being the child of Lily and James, but it was also not a very complex spell," Remus explained. "All that was needed was a swish of a wand and the general idea of what he wanted to happen."

Diane nodded in response as though she understood the bigger picture of what Remus was talking about. I had known Remus since we started Hogwarts, and I only got the gist of what he was saying, but he always did that when he was discussing spells or wand work.

"So, Remus, Diane, I think you guys owe me something," I had said.

The two just shared a look before turning to me and raising their wands.

"You're right," Diane said.

"We do," Remus finished.

"Oh, come on, guys! I didn't mean it like that!" I said, realizing what they were going to do and taking a step back.

I was too late in my retreat as every cushion raised off the floor and flew straight for me. For the next hour or so, I was preoccupied with defending myself against the rogue cushions and planning my counterattack—one that I could take full credit for.

* * *

**A/N: I wrote the majority of this chapter after my science final which explains the inspiration: I actually considered throwing a couple of stress balls at my teacher... He wasn't there, though, so I couldn't. It's not that fun to throw things at the substitute, Ms. J.B. **

**Anyways, I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be posted. It may be tomorrow, but probably not seeing as though it is a rather important day that I'll probably spend with my family and friends. It may be up Monday... I don't have school that day.**

**Please review.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**I haven't disappeared off the face of the Earth, so I'm pretty sure I still don't own anything...**

For most people, 17 December is not a particularly important day. It is eight days until Christmas, nine days until Boxing Day, and fourteen days until the beginning of a new year. Therefore, I raise the question: when have I (or Remus or Diane, for that matter) ever been most people? For us, though, 17 December 1982 is an important day: it was the day I celebrated my twenty-third birthday.

For as long as I had known Remus, he had always found some kind of interesting way to wake me up that morning. I guess he figured it was the one day of the year that he should go above and beyond his level of creativity—which was already pretty high, mind you. That day was no different.

It was pretty early that morning, earlier than I was normally aware of things at least, when I noticed something was off. It was too quiet, too serene, and too peaceful for me to actually be in my own bedroom. I opened my eyes and nearly yelled in surprise. I was still lying on my mattress but I was definitely not in my room, unless Remus had transfigured my entire bedroom into a lake.

The air was chilly, and the lake was almost frozen, but somehow none of that really registered to me. All I thought of in that moment in time was giving Remus a piece of my mind.

I had never really thought about how quickly I could apparate. Even when I was doing work for the Order, I never took the time to consider the speed of my travel. However, that morning, as soon as I pulled out my wand, I was standing in the kitchen of the house.

Diane was already in the kitchen, not surprising as she was in the middle of brewing a healing potion.

"Where _is_ that man?" I asked fuming.

Diane looked up from the potion book she was reading.

"Good morning to you, too, birthday boy."

I shivered, ignoring her pleasantries. Diane caught it.

"Where _is _that man?"

"You're not could are you, Sirius?" she had asked as though I had never repeated my question.

"You would be as well if you woke up in the middle of an idiotic lake in the middle of the idiotic winter!" I seethed.

"Sirius, it's still autumn."

"What ever. Where is—"

"I heard you the first time," she said, cutting me off. "He's in there, but be quiet, would you? Harry's still asleep and I would prefer it to stay that way until this potion is simmering."

She pointed to the lounge with her wand, and I wasted no time in going in there. Remus was sitting in the armchair with is feet propped up on the coffee table, book in hand.

He did not look up at my entrance.

"You spawn of a troll," I said venomously.

"Good morning, Padfoot. How does it feel to be twenty-three?"

"It would have felt loads better if I hadn't woken up in the middle of a freezing cold lake!"

"I would imagine as much," Remus had commented absentmindedly as he turned the page in his book.

"Do you even care?"

"Should I?"

"You're the git who caused it!"

"I did no such thing," Remus had said indignantly as he looked up at me from his book.

"Then who did? And don't you dare blame it on Harry! All the accidental magic in the world could not accomplish something as precise as transporting my mattress to the middle of the lake with me still in it!"

"Padfoot, I hate to tell you, but you were asleep in your bedroom all morning," Remus said.

"Impossible! I woke up in the middle of a lake on my mattress. I know; don't you try to tell me I was asleep in my bedroom!"

"OK, but you really were," Remus said before he returned his attention to his book.

"Oh, so I guess you charmed my mattress to transport me to the middle of a lake the very moment I woke up? Yeah, then I would have been asleep the entire time in my room…"

"Come on, Padfoot; give me a little credit, would you? Why, for Merlin's sake, would I go through the extra trouble to charm your mattress to transport you to some forsaken lake when I could cast a simple illusion charm on your dream?" Remus had pointed out, smiling up at me.

"You little—"

I did not wait to finish my thought before I lunged for him. Just when I expected to make contact with him, however, I felt the hardness of a hardwood floor. The next thing I knew, I was in my bedroom lying face down on the floor before my bed.

I remember hearing a child's high-pitched laughter above me so I looked up to see Remus holding Harry in the doorway of my room.

"See, Harry? I told you it would be funny," Remus said to him.

"Happy birfday, Uncle Pa'foot!"

All the anger I was feeling in that moment in time towards Remus and his stupid spell vanished at those words.

"So, Padfoot, did you have a pleasant dream?" Remus had asked with a smirk.

The anger returned full force at those words. I stood up, dusting myself off and levitating Harry to my bed in the same second before advancing on Remus.

"Padfoot?" he asked uncertainly.

After another second of hesitation, Remus turned and ran down the hallway. I charged after him, changing into my animagus simultaneously.

* * *

My birthday passed rather pleasantly after Remus's prank, though Remus would not agree. When I finally caught up to and tackled Remus in the kitchen, we knocked over Diane's cauldron full of potion, and Remus had to clean it up because it was my birthday. I do not think I had ever been so thankful that it was my birthday before in my life… well, at least my life after Hogwarts.

Christmas came eight days later just like it always did, and I remember it was Harry who woke me up that morning.

Pa'foot! Uncle Pa'foot!" Harry's small voice had protruded my sleepy brain.

I opened my eyes to see the two and a half year old standing beside my bed bouncing from foot to foot.

"It's Cwis'mas!" he exclaimed as he pulled my hand to get me to sit up.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," I had said to him.

"Moo'ey forget," he said sadly when he had finally gotten me out bed.

"Moo'ey forget?" I repeated. "We'll just have to remind him then."

His sad face vanished as the child excitedly led me to Remus and Diane's room. They were still sleeping peacefully with Remus's snoring being the only thing to be heard.

"How we remind him?" Harry had asked quietly.

I pulled my wand from the waistband of my trousers.

"Place you hand on mind like this, Harry," I had instructed him as I guided his hand to rest on mine.

I muttered a spell under my breath and presents floated up the stairs. With Harry's help, I guided them to hover just above Remus and Diane's sleeping forms.

"On the count of three, we'll wake them up," I said to him. "One…Two…Three!"

Moo'ey!" Harry exclaimed. "Aunt Dee!"

They woke with a jump, the presents falling onto them immediately.

"What?" Remus had muttered to himself unintelligibly as a rather large box hit him in the head.

"Moo'ey forget," Harry said to Remus as he rubbed his head.

Remus stopped massaging the top of his head and looked at Harry guiltily.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," he said. "I'm sorry I forgot. Uncle Moony's memory isn't like it used to be."

"In other words, Harry, he says he's old," Diane had said.

"Moo'ey old!" the child exclaimed.

"Hey! You know, Padfoot is three months older than me," Remus said indignantly. "So what does that make him?"

"Pa'foot not old," Harry said. "He don't forget like Moo'ey does."

I laughed, picking Harry up.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," I said to him.

"You always said it was 'cause it was no fun to prank Uncle Moo'ey wifout me," Harry had replied.

"So, I have two reasons," I replied. "At least I can remember both of them."

Harry and Diane laughed as Remus just simply stuck his tongue out at me. I narrowed my eyes at him as Harry jumped down from my arms to Remus and Diane's bed.

"P'esents!"

Remus and I had a silent conversation, and he grabbed his wand. The rest of the presents floated up the stairs dangerously fast.

"Moony—"

I did not have time to warn him before they soared right into the side of Diane's head. She fell back onto the bed clutching the side of her head.

"Remus John Lupin," she said slowly, "if it wasn't for Harry, I would curse you to the edge of the universe and back! But because I don't want to make Harry wait any longer to open his presents, you'd better watch yourself!"

Remus gulped as Harry exclaimed, "P'esents!"

Diane's threat was momentarily forgotten as we all tore into the Christmas presents and enjoyed the time we had together.

Christmas ended with a letter from Augusta apologising for not visiting, but promising to on New Year's Eve.

I remember Remus slept on the sofa Christmas night, after he accidentally added mandrake root to the wrong potion and caused it to blow up. I had laughed so hard that in retaliation, Remus spiked my butterbeer with sleeping potion. When I finally woke up a couple days later, I began plotting my revenge yet again.

* * *

The days thereafter flew by, and it was soon New Year's Eve.

It was nearly midnight. Augusta and Neville had eaten dinner with us, and we had migrated into the lounge to count down until the new year. Neville and Harry were playing with the gobstones for kids set Diane had given Neville for Christmas as the four of us adults retold memories and exchanged small talk.

"It was our third year and our first trip to Hogsmeade… Well, our first _legal _trip to Hogsmeade, anyways. I remember Peter had detention for setting the Charms classroom on fire, so it was just Prongs, Moony, and me. Prongs had this great idea to spike Lily's drink with some kind of potion he had nicked from Slughorn. So we waltz right into Madam Rosmerta's and there's Lily sitting with her friend Mary. Prongs casually walks by their table and slips the potion into one of the glasses of butterbeer. It's a rather good thing Prongs didn't take the time to figure out just with goblet was Lily's 'cause as it turns out, the potion caused rashes to appear everywhere when ingested," I retold the story, pausing at times to laugh at the memory. "Lily was lucky, her friend not so much."

"So that's why butterbeer was banned for the rest of that school year?" Diane had asked.

I nodded in response.

"That, of course, isn't the only thing we got banned throughout our education career," Remus said. "Do you remember the gobstones games that were held nightly in the common room?"

Diane nodded.

"Do you also remember the game of gobstones being banned in our fourth year?"

"That was you guys?" she had asked already knowing the answer.

Remus and I nodded in synchronization before he began retelling the memory.

"It was the end of January, during that huge snow we had that year, and the four of us were stuck inside with nothing to do except homework. I was in the middle of helping Peter with his astronomy homework when I realized Prongs and Padfoot were no longer complaining about Slughorn's essay. The next thing I know, Prongs and Padfoot have their wands held out, saying some kind of reactant spell, and the gobstones marbles are glowing a faint red. When I asked them about it, they just shrugged and said it didn't work so I forgot all about it. Well, it was about time for the nightly gobstones game when I remembered it again, but before I had time to ask them yet again what they had done, the marbles just go crazy. They start flying up and shooting at everyone. Needless to say, the common room was chaotic. McGonagall comes running in and reverses everything and calms everyone down. The next morning, as you recall, Dumbledore announces at breakfast that the game of gobstones is temporarily banned. You remember Peter's love for the game, don't you? Well, I don't think Peter spoke to Prongs and Padfoot for at least a week after that."

"Best week of my life," I muttered.

Diane and Augusta laughed.

"Did you know we've got new neighbours?" Augusta had asked after the laughter had died down.

"Muggles?" Diane asked.

"The parents definitely are, but I have my suspicions about their daughter," Augusta replied. "She's probably about Neville and Harry's age, and just the other day I could have sworn she stopped a bucket from falling on her."

"You think the parents notice anything?" Remus asked.

"I dunno," she had replied. "They seem like nice people and all, but I haven't met them in person."

"I guess Padfoot and I will go and meet them the next day I have off," Remus said.

"I love volunteering for things," I said sarcastically. "It's so easy."

Remus laughed in response.

"Who knows? Maybe she and Harry and Neville could become friends," Augusta had suggested.

"That is assuming she is a witch," Diane said.

"Of course," Augusta had agreed.

The clock stuck twelve just as soon as Augusta agreed. I spent the beginning of the year 1983 surrounded by the people who meant the most to me in the world, talking about those who were dear to us and could soon become dear to us.

"Happy New Years!" Diane said.

Everyone echoed her, content for the time being of the company we were all in.

"Who wants some hot chocolate?" Remus asked.

Well, almost everyone was content. Of course, I should have known Remus was not content without chocolate of some kind.

* * *

**A/N: This update is rather later than I thought it was going to be. I wrote most of this in class the last couple of days of school, but I had to study my manual so I didn't get to type it until now. **

**I had to go back and edit this chapter. I had yet another subject-verb disagreement. Sorry about the confusion, but they aren't getting along very well at the moment.  
**

**Please review. I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker than I did this one.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A little over a day since my last update, and I still don't own anything... **

As it turned out, Remus did not get a day off until around the beginning of February. Because a month had passed since he had volunteered me to go visit our new neighbours with him, I was kind of hoping he would forget. It was not that I did not want to talk to them because they were muggles. It was just because I was a little awkward around muggles. _That _I blame that on my dear old bat of a mum.

However, Remus did remember. (It was actually one of the few times that it annoyed me that he remembered.) That is how I ended up on the doorstep of our new neighbours' home with Remus.

Remus knocked on the door, and it was a good five seconds before it was opened. A lady, no older than twenty-eight, appeared in the open doorway. She had long bushy brown hair, light blue eyes, and a small child hiding behind her legs.

"Yes?"

Remus, who knew it was better if it was not me who spoke to her, greeted her.

"Hello, I'm Remus Lupin, and this is my, er, soon-to-be-brother-in-law, Sirius Black. We live just down the road, and we're wondering if you and your family would like to come over and eat supper with us. My fiancée makes a mean steak and kidney pie."

Leave it to Remus to come up with a cover story on the spot. Honestly, though, I had never considered before that moment how it would look if I lived with Remus and Diane without some kind of relationship to them. It had always been for Harry, and I had never needed to state a relationship to any of them, but Remus knew and I knew that the muggles would need an explanation as to why I was living with their 'family.'

The lady smiled sweetly, revealing her perfectly straight white teeth, before calling behind her, "David? Would you come here for a minute?"

A man appeared in the hallway leading to the door. He appeared to be around the same age as the woman. He was tall, maybe even taller than me, with kind brown eyes and a full head of sandy blond hair.

"Who are they?" he had asked her, his baritone voice rising with the question.

"This is Remus Lupin and Sirius Black," she replied nodding towards each of us as she spoke our names. "They live just down the street."

"Pleasure to meet you," he said as he offered his hand first to Remus and then to me. "I'm Dr. David Granger, DMD, and this is my wife, Dr. Jeanette Granger, DMD."

He had a firm handshake; that much I noticed as I raked my brain for what the letters stood for.

"DMD?" Remus repeated and thankfully continued. "Doctor of Dental Medicine? Impressive."

"Thank you," David replied.

Remus inclined his head.

"Is that a yes on supper?" I had asked, speaking for the first time. "Another neighbour is coming as well with her grandson; he's about the girl's age."

I nodded to the girl still standing behind Jeanette's legs. David bent down and picked her up. She looked a lot like Jeanette, as she had the same bushy brown hair, but her eyes were an innocent brown, barely a shade lighter than David's.

"Really?" Jeanette asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Remus replied. "And Sirius's godson is around her age also."

"You hear that, Squish?" David asked the child in his arms. "You could make some friends."

The child hid her face in his shoulder.

"She's a little shy," David explained.

"I wish his godson was," he said. "The little bugger talks every time he gets the chance… Comes from his father, I'm afraid."

David and Jeanette laughed.

"Anyways," Remus continued, "supper?"

Jeanette and David had a silent conversation before turning back to Remus and me.

"Just let me turn everything off," Jeanette had said before she walked back into the house.

"Just who is this little angel?" Remus had asked.

"Our daughter, Hermione," David replied looking down at her who still had her head hidden in his shoulder. "She turned three back in September."

"Alright, I'm ready," Jeanette said when she appeared back at the door.

It was a short walk back to our house. Remus and David made small talk the entire way, and we soon arrived at the door of our house. I opened it and let our guests in before almost shutting it on Remus.

"Diane?" Remus called.

He slapped me in the back of the head before we showed the Grangers to the lounge. Diane walked in shortly after we sat down followed by Augusta, Neville, and Harry.

"Oh, hello," Diane said before Remus of I had a chance to speak. "I'm Diane, Remus's fiancée."

She offered her hand to David and then to Jeanette.

"See? She doesn't claim me," I had joked, attempting to covertly let Diane in on our cover story. "My own sister!"

Diane laughed, getting the message.

"Yeah, well, if you grew up with him, you'd understand," she played along.

The Grangers laughed.

"I'm Dr. David Granger, DMD, and this is my wife, Dr. Jeanette Granger, DMD, and our daughter, Hermione," David introduced each of them as he shook Diane's hand.

I felt a pull on my robes and looked down. Harry motioned for me to pick him up, and I obliged.

"Pa'foot?" Harry asked me quietly. "Who are these people?"

"They're our new neighbours, Harry," I had answered him just as quiet to where none of the others could hear. "You know the ones your uncle Moony suckered me into visiting?"

Harry nodded with a giggle.

"Of course _you _think it's funny," I had muttered before pointing out each one. "His name is David Granger and that is his wife, Jeanette. They're both muggle teeth doctors. The little girl is Hermione; she is just a few months older than you."

"Why they here?" Even Harry knew we never allowed muggles to visit in fear of exposure.

"Because, Harry, we think Hermione might be a witch," I had replied.

"Oh," Harry said, his young mind trying to understand.

"This is Augusta Longbottom," Diane was saying, "and her grandson, Neville."

Augusta shook hands with the Grangers while Neville hung back behind the safety of Remus's legs much like Hermione had done earlier that evening.

"And of course, my godson, Harry," I spoke up before talking to only him again. "Why don't you and Neville play hide and seek with Hermione?"

I looked up.

"Assuming that's OK with her and her parents."

"I think that's a great idea," David agreed. "Run along and play, Squish."

He sat her down on the floor, but she refused to move.

Harry had wanted down as well so I set him on the floor. He walked over to Hermione and offered her his hand, trying his best to mimic our earlier actions.

"Hi, Hermione. I'm Harry, and this is Neville. You want to play hind and seek?"

Hermione had looked at Harry's outstretched hand for a long moment as though contemplating rather or not to accept it. She finally did, and Harry guided her out of the lounge.

Diane and Augusta went back into the kitchen to finish cooking supper, and David turned to me.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" he asked with a grin. "Your godson is anything but shy."

"You should've met his father," I replied.

"His father?" David repeated. "Where is he now?"

Looking back, I know I should have expected the question, and I think on some level I did, but I was caught off guard back then for a couple of seconds.

"He, um, he was murdered a little less than a year and a half ago," I replied, my voice cracking slightly. "His mother as well."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," David had said sincerely.

I shrugged in response and sighed.

"They say time is supposed to heal the pain, but I keep expecting them to knock on the door and say they're back from their hi—vacation," I had continued and almost said 'hideout.'

The silence that covered the lounge was awkward, as none of us knew what to say next.

"It's ready," Diane had called.

The silence disappeared rather quickly thereafter. Remus headed up stairs to find Neville, Harry, and Hermione as I led the Grangers to the kitchen.

"It smells wonderful," Jeanette had commented. "I still wish you would have allowed me to help some."

"It wasn't necessary," Diane said as we all sat down. "Besides, you're our guests, and Augusta was more than enough help."

"I'm surprised you don't have that fiancée of yours in here helping," Jeanette had said.

"She made that mistake once," I said. "Actually more than once, but the last time she let him in here, he set the kitchen on fire."

Jeanette and David laughed just as Remus followed the three toddlers into the kitchen.

"I sense they're laughing at me," Remus stated.

"No, Moony," I said sarcastically. "Who would ever laugh at you?"

"You told them about my lack of kitchen skills, didn't you?"

I smirked, nodding my head. He just sighed and set each of the three toddlers into a high chair.

"Moony?" David had asked questioningly.

Remus just sat down at the table, a silent request for me to yield the question.

"When we were kids, Harry's dad and I would always stay over at the Lupins every few weeks or so. It got to where Harry's grandparents would stop asking when we were going to the Lupins; instead they asked what moon phase we were in. Eventually, we started calling Remus Moony," I had replied.

Remus sent me a thumbs up under the table, and I had never been more thankful for all the years we had tried to talk our way out of trouble with the staff at Hogwarts.

David and Jeanette laughed, and I took that as a sign that they had believed my off the wall story.

* * *

"That was close, you two," Diane had said to us later that night after the Grangers had left.

We were sitting in the lounge. Augusta and Neville had left soon after the Grangers, and Harry had gone to sleep a couple hours after they did, so it was just Remus, Diane, and me. Remus had his nose stuck once again in a book as Diane scribbled something down in her potions journal. I was sitting in the armchair sketching the exterior of James's parents' place from my memory.

I looked up, meeting Remus's gaze and then looking to Diane.

"We're fine," I assured her. "They believed us. That's all that matters."

"They believed you this time," Diane said, her pearly blue eyes meeting mine. "But my mum always told me growing up that a muggle author once said, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." So what does that say about next time?"

Remus and I shared another guilty look.

"Hopefully there won't be a next time," I had replied naïvely.

Diane said nothing in return. There was nothing to say really. We all knew we were flying on too-worn brooms. Our new friendship with the Grangers was going to be difficult, but we knew even at that time that it could all be worth it in the end.

"I think I'm going to head onto bed," Remus said once he was certain the previous conversation was over. "Night."

"Night," we echoed.

I returned my attention to the sketch I was working on. A few minutes later I heard Remus yelp in surprise. I shared a look with Diane and high tailed it up the stairs. I reached Remus and Diane's bedroom door and stopped immediately at the sight.

Everything was covered in—well, there's no better word for it—goo. I am not talking about the cool kind of goo, either. I am talking about the slimy, sticky goo. The kind that back in the day James or I would have snuck into the Slytherin common room and put all over Snape's belongings. Remus, the poor bloke (and yes, for once I kind of did mean it), was sprawled out in the middle of the floor covered in it. He had presumably not noticed the goo when he first entered his room. Of course, he might not have noticed it to begin with, but he sure did notice it when he landed in it.

I was laughing by that time and silently wishing I knew the person responsible for it. Diane, who had hesitated to get up in favor of completing her notes in her potions journal, had just made up it up the stairs when I started laughing, but she had not realized I was stopped. Needless to say, she ran right smack into me, propelling the both of us into the goo-filled room.

Yes, it was bad. I slid halfway across the room before I tripped over Remus. That sent me tumbling and flying a little bit farther before I stopped with my face planted in the floor.

Diane, on the other hand, had enough sense to grab her wand before she went flying and levitate herself back to the safety of the hallway. When she comprehended what was going on, she laughed hard. I mean, she laughed harder than the time Remus was caught in the lounge with the hexed sofa.

It was about fifteen or twenty minutes before Diane stopped laughing enough to clean up the goo. Every time she would begin to stop laughing, Remus or I would attempt to get up only to do an awkward rendition of an American break dance, sparking her laughter yet again.

When the room was finally goo free, Diane gave me a look.

"Oh, come on, you don't actually think it was me, do you?" I had asked indignantly.

Diane raised her eyebrows.

"I was with you or Moony the entire day!"

Diane, seeing the validity of my statement, rounded on Remus.

"It wasn't me," he said quickly.

"I do seem to recall you were alone for a little while today when you voluntarily went up and got the kids before supper," I put in.

"Yeah, but I didn't have my wand on me," he had argued.

"Pssht. Wand," I huffed. "You could cast a spell in your sleep with your wand on the other side of the world!"

"Padfoot, you give me too much credit."

"You know, for once I agree with Sirius," Diane said.

"I guess this means I'm on the sofa again tonight?" he had surrendered.

"No, it just means you're on kitchen duty for the next three weeks," Diane replied.

"If I had done it, you would've given me three _months _of kitchen duty!" I had protested.

"Just be thankful I agreed with you, Sirius," Diane said. "Besides, you'll probably be helping him pretty soon."

"Do you people think that all I do of a day is sit around and plot things?"

"Yes," Remus and Diane said at the same time.

I huffed again and backed out of the room.

"Night, you two."

"Night."

* * *

**A/N: Another quick update on my part... I think that calls for a celebration. Good thing I've got chocolate chip cookies in the oven. **

**For those of you who figured out it was Hermione in the previous chapter, I bow down to your powers of deduction. (Although, I might have made it a little _too_ obvious, but... oh well.) **

**As usual, I apologize for my American slip ups if there is any.**

**And credit goes to Sir Walter Scott for the quote Diane said above. He said that; those are not my words... I'm not nearly cunning enough to think of something like that. **

**Oh, and I think I deserve _two_ cookies for making this a SUPER long chapter. =]  
**

**So I guess the only thing to do is thank you for reading and ask you to...**

**Please Review.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**It is now June, and yet I still don't own anything... **

I swear women must be born with some kind of clairvoyant powers because Merlin knows Diane was particularly good at foreseeing the future. Case in point, it was barely two weeks and a half later, just a day or so shy of March, when I was yet again annoyed by the accuracy of Diane's prediction.

Remus and Diane were at work and I was stuck at home, just like any other day, watching Harry. I did not mind it; I never did, but sometimes I got blamed for the craziest things that I was not even aware of myself.

It was almost noon, and Harry and I were in the kitchen. I was fixing the two of us lunch, dry cereal for him and a sandwich for me if I recall correctly, when there was a knock at the door.

"Don't do what your uncle Moony done and set the kitchen on fire while I'm gone," I had said to Harry as I walked towards the door.

Opening it, I found Jeanette on the doorstep with Hermione hidden slightly behind her legs.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Sirius," Jeanette began, "but would you mind watching Hermione for me? Our babysitter's in the process of moving and we haven't found a replacement yet so I don't know where else to take Hermione."

"Don't worry about finding a replacement, Jeanette," I had said to her. "I don't mind to watch her for you guys."

Jeanette had raised her eyebrows at me.

"Honestly," I had assured her. "I mean, it's not like I do anything other than watch Harry and sketch all day anyways so…"

"You're a life saver, Sirius!" she had exclaimed, handing me the bag that was slung over her shoulder. "I'm sure you know the drill by now, so I won't bore you with it."

She bent down and said something to Hermione before she nudged the toddler forward.

"Be good and mind Sirius, Squish," she said before standing up and addressing me. "You don't know how much this means to me. I was afraid I'd have to take her down to Mrs. Lewis, and Squish just doesn't like her."

"It's no problem."

Jeanette nodded before changing the subject, "So Diane's still cooking supper tonight, right?"

"Yeah," I replied, "and you don't have to worry about picking Hermione up before then either. I'll keep her until then."

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all," I had assured her again.

"Well, I've got to go before I'm late," Jeanette said before she turned and walked back down the walk.

I looked down to the toddler at my feet.

"Are you hungry, Hermione?"

She nodded and reached for my hand.

_This is going to be a piece of cauldron cake, _I had thought to myself as we walked back into the house. Of course, that was before I noticed the smoke coming from the kitchen.

"HARRY!" I exclaimed before talking to Hermione. "Why don't you head up to Harry's room?"

I watched her climb the stairs before I hurried into the kitchen. I was met with a fire breathing dragon.

"Harry?" I had repeated as I looked from the dragon to him and back again.

Then I noticed it: the turned over cereal box on the counter and my wand being clutched suspiciously in Harry's small hand.

"Har-ry," I said his name for the third time, this time accenting each syllable.

"D'agon!" he exclaimed happily.

"Yes, Harry, dragon, but Uncle Padfoot has to clean this up before Aunt Dee gets home or your friend Hermione sees it."

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Hermione is here," I had replied. "She's upstairs in your room. Can I have my wand back please?"

"Down?" Harry asked after he handed me back my wand.

"You mean you're the son of Prongs and you haven't figured how to get out of your high chair yet?" I asked playfully but got him out and set him on the ground nonetheless.

He ran off, and I was left in the kitchen with a dragon that my godson had thought he would graciously charm off of his cereal box.

"Where's Hagrid when you need him?" I had asked myself sarcastically.

The dragon sneezed and blew fire out of its nose that narrowly missed me. It hit instead Diane's vase of flowers she had picked for supper that night, unfortunately.

"OK, little dragon," I had said to it.

Apparently it did not like being called 'little dragon' because it purposefully shot fire at me. I jumped out of the way while the fire hit and consumed Remus's crossword book.

"Why Moony's book?" I asked the creature. "Out of all the books in the kitchen you had to destroy Moony's. He's gonna go off once he finds out and it won't be on you!"

I growled at the dragon only finding that to be a mistake as he shot fire at me yet again. This time it hit Diane's cauldron and engrossed it in flames.

"_Aguamenti!_" I had said, pointing my wand at the cauldron.

The dragon, apparently finding it funny to watch me dive out of the way of his firing range, shot another stream of fire at me. I jumped out of the way only to see the fire head straight for my sketchpad.

"_Accio sketchpad!_" I summoned.

It flew straight into my outstretched hand as the fire hit the top of the counter.

"OK, you've had your fun," I said to the dragon. "I'm going to have mine."

With that being said, I pointed my wand at the dragon and silently said an incantation to myself. The dragon disappeared and reappeared on the back of Harry's cereal box where it belonged.

I looked around the kitchen at the damage and cringed. If I got the kitchen cleaned up before Diane got home, it would be a miracle. There were scorch marks everywhere and some things were beyond magical repair, specifically Remus's crossword and Diane's vase.

I groaned before I set off to work.

* * *

It took the better part of an hour and a half to get the kitchen into decent shape. I took frequent breaks to make sure Harry and Hermione were still all right, and neither of them had conjured anything else. Most of the times I checked on them they were either playing a game of muggle chess or playing hide and seek.

I was in the middle of seeing if there was anything I could do with Diane's vase when there was another knock on the door. I put my wand in the waistband of my trousers and went to answer it. It was Augusta and Neville.

"Sirius, what happened to you?" Augusta had asked.

"Huh?"

"You look like you were standing a little too close when Remus was cooking," she clarified.

I had conjured up a mirror and looked at my reflection. I saw what she meant. My cheeks were black and my hair had been singed and there was a burn mark just below my ear where I had not gotten out of the way of that blasted dragon in time.

I shrugged.

"I know it wasn't Remus's cooking this time," she went on. "He stopped by my place this morning to drop off a healing potion before he went to work. So what happened?"

"Oh you know, I accidentally left my wand in the kitchen and Harry conjured up a dragon from the back of his cereal box," I replied nonchalantly. "The usual."

Augusta looked at me sternly, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"And I may not have reversed it before the dragon had time to destroy half the kitchen," I finished. "Yes, before you ask, it was worse than the last time Moony set the kitchen on fire."

Augusta lost her internal battle at that moment in time and almost doubled over in laughter.

"If you're finished…" I had tried to cut in after almost ten minutes of her continuous laughter only to cause her to laugh harder.

"OK," she said as she gasped for breath. "I'm finished."

I looked at her sternly, borrowing her favorite way to look at me.

"Sorry, Sirius," she had apologized with laughter still lacing her voice, "but it's just something about you two men in Diane's kitchen that spells disaster."

"You two men?" I repeated. "Harry's the one who conjured it!"

Augusta raised her eyebrows at me.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I cut in before she could say what she was thinking. "_I'm_ the one who left their wand unattended in a room with James Potter's son."

"When you put it like that…" she trailed off before laughing once more.

"Did you come over for a specific reason? Or do you just have a sixth sense for when there's a fire in Diane's kitchen?" I had asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Both, actually," she replied. "I was going to ask you if you would watch Neville while I ran an errand, but seeing as you're having trouble watching Harry without _dragons_ appearing…"

"Oh, haha, very funny, Augusta. I'll have you to know that I'm watching both Harry _and_ Hermione and nothing has happened since the dragon incident."

"How do I not know the dragon incident didn't happen ten minutes ago?"

"It happened when Jeanette came over with Hermione," I replied.

Augusta had raised her eyebrows.

"No, Jeanette didn't come in, and no, Hermione didn't see anything," I assured her.

"As long as there's no exposure…"

"There wasn't any," I said again.

"Anyway, Neville, you mind Sirius, OK?" Augusta addressed the toddler. "And don't conjure up any more dragons; Sirius doesn't get along too well with them."

Of course the woman was not going to let that go anytime soon.

"I will see you later on tonight, Sirius," Augusta said, "and kindly pass onto Diane that neither Remus nor you should be anywhere near the kitchen while she is cooking."

"Goodbye, Augusta," I said, ignoring her statement.

"Goodbye, Neville, Sirius," she said before she turned and walked down the walk.

I closed the door behind Neville and me.

"They're upstairs, Neville," I told him. "Run along and play."

Neville wasted no time in obeying me.

I walked back into the kitchen and sighed at the sight. I was no where near finished repaired the kitchen, and it was almost two hours before Diane would get off work and less than one before Remus did. There was no way I was going to let them see the kitchen in that shape so I started back to work.

* * *

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say Harry got a hold of your wand," I heard Remus say a little while later.

I jumped and turned towards the voice. He was standing in the doorway of the kitchen laughing. The one thing about Remus was that when he arrived home, he did not yell out any greeting or alert anyone to his presence. He tended to just walk unannounced into the room I was in and tactically scare me half to death.

"Yeah, laugh it up," I muttered darkly.

"Uncle Moo'ey!" I saw the silhouette figure of Harry run down the hallway towards Remus.

Remus turned just in time and picked Harry up in the same motion.

"Harry!" Remus had returned his enthusiasm.

Remus looked at me darkly.

"Say, Harry, could you tell Uncle Moony what happened here?" Remus asked him.

"D'agon!" Harry exclaimed as though it explained everything.

"Dragon, you say?" Remus repeated as he looked around the kitchen. "Ah, dragon."

I looked in the direction he was looking and noticed my mistake: I had left the cereal box with the dragon on the back of it in plain sight.

"I was gone for maybe five minutes, and I come back and there's a fire-breathing dragon standing in the middle of the kitchen," I explained.

"Gone?"

"Jeanette came by and dropped Hermione off," I replied.

"Hermione?"

"We play hide and seek," Harry told Remus before motioning to be set down.

Remus sat him down on the ground. The toddler took off for the stairs.

"I wish I could've seen you try to get rid of it," he said, his eyes looking at the burn mark just below my ear.

"That little bugger shoots faster than I thought."

Remus had laughed before assessing the damage.

"Hmm, well, everything looks to be accounted for," he had said.

I made an agreeable sound in my throat. The only thing I had not been able to replace was Remus's crossword.

"Padfoot?" Remus said slowly. "Where's my crossword?"

I met his eyes guiltily.

"Like I said, that little bugger shoots faster than I thought," I repeated my words.

"Padfoot?"

He charged for me, and I wasted no time in running.

* * *

That was how Diane found us when she arrived home around an hour later. Well, actually by that time we were sending curses at each other and ducking under the cover of either the sofa or the coffee table.

"Remus! Sirius!" Diane had condoned us. "There are children in the house! One of which is not aware of you-know-what!"

Still hiding behind the safety of the sofa, I looked at her guiltily.

There was a knock at the door.

"You'd better hope that's Augusta and not the Grangers!" she spat before walking to the door and opening it.

"Come in, Augusta," Diane stepped aside.

Augusta walked in and took one look at Remus and me before turning to Diane and saying, "I guess you know about the dragon in your kitchen?"

Curse women and their assumptions.

"Dragon?" Diane repeated questioningly before turning slowly and looking at me strictly.

"You didn't know?" Augusta asked.

"No, I didn't know," Diane confirmed, her eyes still on me.

I shrank back a little bit.

"Sirius here left Harry alone with his wand and the little tyke conjured a dragon from the back of his cereal box," Augusta answered before doubling over in laughter yet again.

"Sirius Orion Black," Diane had said, articulating each name individually. "Three months."

"Three months?" I repeated completely clueless.

Diane did not answer me. She had instead adopted Augusta's way of thinking about the entire situation and doubled over in laughter.

"Kitchen duty, mate," Remus answered with a smirk. "Diane did predict it, you know."

"Shut up, Moony."

* * *

It was later on that night when I realized sometimes things were not necessarily as they had originally seemed.

After the Grangers, as well as the Longbottoms, had visited and left, Remus, Harry, and I were sitting in the lounge relaxing before we headed onto bed. Diane had left the lounge a little beforehand, saying something about getting a good night's sleep because she had to go in to work early the next morning.

She had not much more than walked out of the room before I heard her yelp in surprise. I shared a look with Remus before the two of us jumped up and ran towards the sound. I fought back laughter at the sight I was met with. Diane was sprawled out at the foot of the stairs, looking as though she had slid down them dangerously fast from the top. One look at Remus told me he was fighting laughter as well.

"You _men_!" she had said venomously. "I don't know which one of you it was, but you _men_!"

Remus and I shared a look of confusion.

"Dear, it wasn't me this time," Remus spoke up before I had the chance to.

"Don't look at me," I ha said indignantly at Diane's murderous glare in my direction. "It wasn't me either. I've been with you two the entire evening. Besides, I don't even know what happened."

"You know," Remus said slowly, "I don't either."

Diane had opened her mouth to protest when Harry walked into the hallway.

"Slide!" he had exclaimed before running past us at full force and up the stairs.

I watched while Harry, as though expecting it, stopped just short of the top stair and turned around. The next thing I knew he slid back down, glee written all over his face.

"C'mere, Harry," I said to him.

He had obliged immediately, and I picked him up.

"Say, how did you know it was a slide?" I asked him.

"'Cause me and Neville and Hermione made it one," he answered.

"Really?"

Remus and I looked at Diane triumphantly.

"Uh-huh," Harry nodded.

"Fine," Diane said to us. "I'm sorry for blaming you."

"Thank you," I had said, feeling accomplished.

"Wait a minute," Diane said. "Hermione helped do this?"

The child nodded. Diane, Remus, and I shared a look. Our suspicions were confirmed.

"Harry?" Remus got the child's attention. "A few weeks ago when I was given kitchen duty, did you do that?"

"Goo fun!" Harry had replied.

Remus looked at Diane again victoriously.

"I'm sorry, dear," Diane said again.

"No harm done," Remus said.

"But you honestly can't blame me for blaming you," Diane had continued.

"What do you mean exactly?" Remus asked.

"You are a Marauder."

"You've got me there," Remus agreed.

There was silence for a few minutes before Remus broke it.

"So does this mean I don't have kitchen duty anymore?"

"I guess," Diane said.

"Harry, why couldn't you have done this two weeks ago?" Remus complained.

"Moo'ey funny when doing kitchen duties," the child had replied.

"I'll show you funny," Remus had said, taking Harry from my arms and running into the lounge to tickle him.

"So, Diane," I had said casually. "Since this was all just one big misunderstanding, I don't have kitchen duty either, do I?"

"You set my kitchen on fire, destroyed my favorite vase in the process, _and _rendered my Pepperup Potion useless," Diane pointed out. "No, you've still got three months worth of kitchen duty."

I did not even waste my time indicating the fact that it was the dragon Harry conjured with my wand that did all that, not me. She would have probably given me six months worth of kitchen duty for that.

"And don't even get me started on the fact that you left your wand in the same room of James Potter's son unattended!"

* * *

**A/N: OK, so maybe I had a little too much fun with this chapter. Oh well, I can't say I can complain; it did make it super long. The update is a little delayed, and I apologize for that as well as my American slip-ups.**

**Please review.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Even though I haven't updated in a week or so, I still don't own anything.**

10 March is another one of those non-important days of the year for normal people. It is just another day, one of which there is nothing cool to count down to. Where Remus, Diane, and I (and therefore those associated with us) are concerned, however, normality has always been questionable. So therefore, it is no surprise that 10 March is an important day in our eyes. In fact it is Remus's birthday, and on that day in 1983, only sixty-nine days into the new year, was Remus's 23 birthday.

It fell on a Thursday of that year, if I recall correctly, so that meant Remus was the lucky soul who had to work on his birthday, and I was the luckier soul who got to wake the birthday boy up. After, of course, I was woken up, which was done courtesy of Harry.

"Uncle Pa'foot! Uncle Pa'foot!" the child's enthusiastic voice penetrated my sleepy brain, but I did not respond.

That, of course, was a mistake. I, Sirius Orion Black, should know better than to ignore the son, godson, and nephew of the Marauders, but, alas, I did not. What did I get in return, you ask? Only a bucket full of ice cold water straight to the face from the two and a half year old toddler.

"Ahh!" I had yelped and gotten out of bed faster than you could say "Wimbourne Wasps."

Harry had just laughed in response. I shivered, soaked to the bone. It was almost as cold as the time Remus thought it would be funny for me to hallucinate waking up in the middle of a frozen lake on my birthday.

"You woke me up, Harry," I had said to him. "What do you want?"

"Moony's birfday!"

That was the first time he had ever said any of our nicknames correctly since that fateful Halloween night. A couple weeks before that night, he had finally said 'Prongs' correctly. Remus and I were over at the Potters once again. Lily was in the kitchen cooking supper while James, Remus, and I were in the lounge playing with baby Harry. Each of us were taking turns trying to get Harry to say our names correctly. Harry had almost said 'Padfoot' right the previous time, and I was so certain he would say it right the next time, but James went right before me. The little bugger had said 'Prongs' with ease. Lily had later told us Harry had been saying our names correctly for the past couple of days, but James had bribed him with ice cream. Come to find out, it had been 'Padfoot' he had said correctly first.

Of course, that was before James and Lily died and we lost almost all progress with Harry.

"Oh come on, Harry, you couldn't have said 'Padfoot' correctly first?" I had asked him rhetorically.

Harry just shook his head, wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen.

"Moony's birfday!" he exclaimed again as though he was afraid I had forgotten.

"Yes, Moony's birthday," I had agreed with him.

"We wake Uncle Moony up?"

"Of course, Harry," I had replied.

I offered him my hand and he took it and we quietly walked across the hall to Diane and Remus's room. He was sleeping peacefully, as it was still at least half an hour before he had to get up for work that day. Diane was not in there, having presumably already gotten up to cook breakfast.

I took my wand out of the waistband of my trousers and conjured a birthday cake to which I levitated just above Remus's forehead.

"On the count of three," I said Harry. "One… Two…"

"Wait!" Harry had exclaimed. "Ice cream?"

It was times like that that made me realize how much of James is really in Harry.

"You're right," I had agreed. "Ice cream."

With another flick of my wand, I conjured ice cream to float beside the cake.

"One… Two… Three!"

"Happy birfday, Moony!"

I remember Remus woke with a jump and had enough time to look at Harry and me obliviously before the cake and ice cream fell on him. He yelped, and the next thing I knew Diane came running up the stairs. She stopped just short of the bedroom door and doubled over in laughter.

Remus had gotten out of the bed by then and was searching all over for his wand.

"Did you lose something, Moony?" I had asked.

"You."

"You lost me?" I had asked.

"No," he shook his head. "You."

"Me?" I had thrown my hands up in innocence.

"You," he repeated venomously. "You stole my wand!"

"Now, Moony, why would you ever think it was me?"

"It's always you," he replied.

"You said the same thing about those stinking Cockroach Clusters in fifth year, and I don't even like those!" I had said indignantly. "And it really wasn't me! It was Prongs!"

"What do Cockroach Clusters have to do with my wand? Unless you know something about the ones I'm missing now."

"Who would want to steal those revolting things?"

Remus raised his eyebrows at me.

"I put them in the top cupboard," he paused dramatically and looked around. "It seems to me that there is only one person, other than me, who is tall enough to reach it."

"Moony, that argument isn't valid," I had replied. "You see, there's this thing normal people don't know about…" I paused. "And it's called magic. You know the funny thing about it? Everyone in this room can do it."

"Funny, Padfoot," Remus said dryly.

"If you two kids are _quite _finished," Diane had cut in, having apparently stopped laughing enough to address us. "You're cleaning this up."

"But I didn't do it," Remus had argued.

"No, but I need you out of the kitchen," Diane replied. "Come on, Harry. Happy birthday, dear."

"This is all your fault, Padfoot," he said once Diane and Harry had disappeared down the stairs.

"My fault?"

"Yes, your fault," he repeated. "If you hadn't thought it was funny to drop ice cream and cake on me to wake me up, we wouldn't have to clean all this up."

"At least I didn't cause you to think you'd woken up in the middle of a frozen lake!"

"It was your birthday, though," Remus replied.

"Well, today's yours," I had said, reversing his logic. "Besides, you're just mad 'cause I can do this and you can't."

Proving my point, I flicked my wand for the third time that morning and half of the cake and ice cream mess disappeared off of his and Diane's bed.

"Padfoot, in case you were unaware of this, there are times that I do not like you that much," Remus had said in response.

"Moony, in case you were unaware of this, you will rethink that statement rather soon," I had promised him.

"But for now…" he trailed off, and for a moment I was oblivious to why.

He soon lunged for me, before I had time to react, and I was suddenly very aware of what he had left unsaid. Sometimes I forgot Moony was just as sneaky as he was clever.

* * *

I had a full day ahead of me that day. Between locating both Remus's wand and his Cockroach Clusters (which he still swore up and down I had something to do with), I also had to get everything ready for Remus's birthday party _and _watch the kids.

The Grangers had dropped Hermione off soon after Remus and Diane had left for work, promising that they would be over after work that day for the party, and Augusta had floo'ed over with Neville around lunch time to help me get everything together.

We were just finishing up decorating the kitchen when there was a knock at the door.

"You get that, and I'll start cooking," Augusta had said, all but physically kicking me out of the kitchen.

I opened the door to see Dumbledore on the step.

"Good afternoon, Sirius," he had greeted.

"Prof—Albus," I corrected myself at his look. "Come in. Augusta's kicked me out of the kitchen, I'm afraid, but I'm onto decorating the lounge next."

"Remus's twenty-third birthday," Dumbledore said as the two of us walked into the lounge. "My apologies for missing both your birthday and Christmas; I'm afraid I was dealing with the minister at the time and couldn't find time to get away."

"Understandable," I said. "But there's something we've been wanting to ask you."

"Would it have anything to do with a certain Granger girl who is currently upstairs with Harry and Neville?"

"How?"

"Sirius, I was the headmaster when the infamous Marauders reigned over the student body at Hogwarts. Surely I would know their every turn even now," Dumbledore had answered.

_You didn't know Pettigrew's_, I had thought sadly before pushing it out of my mind.

"And to answer your other question: yes, Hermione Granger's name is on the roster at Hogwarts for the year of 1991."

"How long have you known?"

"Diane wrote be back in January about the Grangers," Dumbledore had said. "It was then I realized who they were, but of course I chose to not disclose that information until after you met them and became friends with them."

I had laughed, remembering that letter all too well. Diane had been so flustered at Dumbledore's cryptic response that she had bothered Remus for weeks to visit the Grangers.

"Should I assume the decorations are nothing too magical?" Dumbledore had asked, changing the subject.

"The Grangers do not know of our being magical," I replied, "just as Moony knows not of my innocence where his wand and Cockroach Clusters are concerned."

Dumbledore just laughed in response, and the two of us began decorating the lounge.

* * *

Diane arrived home a couple hours later and had reinforced my ban from the kitchen.

"Those women must think I'm Moony and set the kitchen on fire every time I enter it," I had said to Dumbledore as we sat in the newly decorated lounge.

"You did leave Harry unsupervised in the kitchen and allow him to conjure a fire-breathing dragon," Dumbledore had responded.

"How did you…?" I trailed off, before answering my own question. "Augusta."

"She seemed to think it was funny."

"It wasn't like I knew he was going to conjure up a fire-breathing dragon!" I had said indignantly. "And before you say anything, yes I am aware he is James Potter's son."

Dumbledore just laughed.

"Dum'ledore!" Harry exclaimed from the doorway before running for him.

"Harry!" Dumbledore picked him up when he was close enough. "And who is this?"

Harry looked to his friends, where Dumbledore was talking about.

"Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger," Harry said.

"Hello, Neville, you look just like your father, but you're no doubt your mother's son," Dumbledore said to him before addressing Hermione, who stood just behind Neville. "And, Hermione, a little beauty."

"Come on in here, Neville, Hermione," I had said. "This is Professor Dumbledore, a friend of ours."

"Dumbledore?" Hermione had repeated, seemingly proud she could say it correctly.

"Yes, Dumbledore," I had agreed.

There was a knock at the door.

"Sirius, can you get that?" Diane called.

"I'll be right back," I had said to them before walking to the door. "Jeanette, David, just in time."

"Good afternoon, Sirius, we thought we were going to be late," Jeanette said as I let them in.

"No, Moony's not even home yet," I had assured them.

"Jeanette, would you put the frosting on the cake?" Diane had asked from the door to the kitchen.

"Sure," she replied.

"Let's go into the den; Diane and Augusta's kicked me out of the kitchen," I told David.

The two of us walked into the lounge and took a seat on the sofa.

"David, this is Albus Dumbledore," I introduced them. "He was the headmaster of the school Moony, Diane, and I attended. Albus, this is David, Hermione's father."

"David," Dumbledore greeted.

"So you're the famous headmaster who had to deal with those two troublemakers?" David had asked.

"They kept me on my toes," Dumbledore had replied.

I heard a car pull into the driveway outside.

"Moony's home!" I called.

"Everybody in the lounge now!" Diane called as the women ran into the lounge.

Remus opened the front door, and flipped the light on before walking in the vicinity of the lounge.

Variations of "Happy birthday!" were shouted, and three toddlers ran to him.

"Happy birfday, Uncle Moony!" Harry said.

"Happy birthday, Mr. Moony!" Neville and Hermione said at the same time.

Remus picked Harry up and placed him on his shoulders before picking both Neville and Hermione up with both arms.

"Thank you, guys," he said.

"Can we eat now?" I had asked impatiently.

"Is that all you think about, Padfoot?"

I paused dramatically.

"No, sometimes I think about pulling one over on you," I had said, both of us fully aware of the fact we were repeating our words from months before.

Remus laughed before we all headed into the kitchen.

* * *

Remus's party was soon over, and I had just put Harry down to sleep when I noticed something.

"Hey, Moony, come in here," I had called.

"What do you want, Padfoot?"

"Take a good look and tell me what's out of place."

Remus looked around the room at my request.

"Padfoot, I'm tired, so can you just…" he trailed off. "Is that?"

"Yep," I had nodded victoriously. "It seems James isn't the only Potter known for his love of Cockroach Clusters."

"How did he get it down from the cupboard?" Remus had asked. "Padfoot, tell me you didn't give him your wand."

"It wasn't my wand he used."

Remus looked at me questioningly.

"Just look."

"That little bugger used _my _own wand to get _my _Cockroach Clusters?"

"He is James Potter's son," I told him.

"As you have stated," Remus had replied. "I guess he can keep the Cockroach Clusters. Prongs would have given them to me if I had gone through all that trouble, but I _am _taking my wand back."

"Happy birthday, Moony," I said to him.

"Thanks, Padfoot," he said as he paused at the door. "Er, I wouldn't sleep on your covers if I were you."

"Moony!"

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the tardiness of this update. It normally wouldn't have taken me this long to post this, especially since school is out but it just didn't seem to want to work out for me. Hopefully the next chapter will be up quicker. My internet (in case you were not already aware of this) has gone haywire as it always seems to do when the temperature gets around or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Add that to some crazy (and most of the time stormy) weather, and my internet becomes non-reliable, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it and post around it.  
**

**Please Review.  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**This isn't going to be a surprise, but I own nothing. **

"You know, Padfoot," Remus had said to me before I had even walked into the kitchen on the morning of 28 April 1983, "Diane and I were talking and we've established something."

I walked through the kitchen door by the time Remus had stopped talking, and answered, "That waking me up by any means other than an alarm clock is cruel and unusual punishment especially when you charm my pillow to whack me in the head in two second intervals?"

Remus chuckled in response.

"No, Padfoot, that's neither cruel and unusual punishment nor what we were talking about."

"And no, we won't consider the former, either," Diane had said from the other side of the kitchen where she was brewing her latest potion.

"Since the entire pillow thing was wicked awesome and the works of a true genius," Remus added.

"Can't blame a Marauder for trying," I had said, taking a seat at the table beside of Remus.

"We've got a date in mind," Remus said, as he fought to keep a smile off his face.

"A date? I thought you guys just went out on one last night," I had replied obliviously. "Isn't it the reason Harry's stayed at the Longbottom's last night and I was stuck here alone with that idiotic boggart in the pantry?"

"Yes, Padfoot, but no, I meant like a day of the year date."

"Well, Moony, in case you didn't know, and I'm sure the rest of the world would agree with me on this, today's 28 April 1983," I had replied. "Well, maybe not the United States just yet, but give them an hour or so and they will."

Remus narrowed his eyes at me, and looking back, his stern expression would have had a better effect had he not still be fighting to not smile.

"He means for our wedding, Sirius," Diane had said.

"I didn't know we were getting married, Diane," I had joked. "Wait a minute—did you ask me or did I ask you? I forget."

Remus threw an unpeeled potato at me. I caught it with one hand and laid it on the table just out of his reach, barking out a laugh.

"Not you and Diane, you dimwit! Me and Diane!" he snapped.

I had just laughed harder at him and ducked the next potato he threw instead of catching it.

"Moony, you're so funny."

"I'll show you funny!" he threatened as he pushed his seat backwards and stood up.

"Well, before you do, could you inform me of the date you and Diane have set?"

Remus paused and asked, "And why should I do that?"

"Because I'm your best man; therefore, I need to know what the date is," I had argued.

"Who said anything about you being my best man?" he asked.

"You did when you asked her almost two years ago!"

"Yes, but that was almost two years ago," he had replied with a smile.

"I'm really not going to be your best man?"

"I thought I'd ask the bloke who has two left feet and proved so to Professor McGonagall in our sixth year."

"You're going to have some random bloke to be your best man and not your best friend?" I had asked, standing up as well.

Remus had held my icy glare for a few seconds before he had burst out laughing.

"Wait, I'm that bloke who has two left feet and proved it to Professor McGonagall in our sixth year," I had realized.

"So does that answer your question?"

"One of them," I had replied. "You haven't answered the other one. When are you and Diane getting married?"

"24 May," Remus said, "in a month and a day."

"And I'm your best man?" I had asked again just to make sure.

"You're my best man," Remus assured me.

"See? I knew you'd ask me," I had said victoriously.

Something hit me in the back of the head in response. I looked around to see Diane innocently peeling a potato that looked suspiciously like the one that then lay in the floor behind my chair.

"What is this? Gang up on Sirius day?" I had asked rhetorically. "First you both carry out this elaborate plan to wake me up by charming my pillow to attack me, which by the way took me half an hour to find my wand while avoiding that stupid pillow. Then you both decide to turn the stairs into a muggle escalator that only goes up! And now the two of you are throwing potatoes at me. What's next? You guys gonna charm the bacon and eggs to avoid my mouth?"

"First off, _I'd _call it 'Gang up on Padfoot Day'," Remus had corrected me.

"And second?" I had asked, not completely sure if I really wanted to know.

"I dunno; I didn't really have a second," Remus had answered with a laugh, "but that _is_ a rather brilliant idea, don't you think, Diane?"

"You're right, dear; it is," Diane agreed. "Shall I do the honors?"

"After you, m'lady," Remus had insisted.

The next thing I knew, Diane had grabbed her wand off the counter and pointed it in the general direction of our cooked breakfast. I had just enough time to register what was going on before the breakfast floated harmlessly over to the table.

When it landed firmly and easily on the table, I said to Diane, "Looks like you need a little practice on your wand work."

"And why's that?" she had asked as she sat down across from me.

"Nothing happened," I had replied, reaching for the bacon.

It was then that I realized how wrong I had been. The bacon, instead of accepting its fate on my fork, had flown clear across the room and landed back in the pan Diane had cooked it in. The next three did as well.

"This sure is a good breakfast, Diane," Remus had gloated. "You'd have to have the intelligence of a flobberworm to pass it up."

He looked at me.

"Are you not hungry, Padfoot?"

I growled in response and moved to steal the food off Remus and Diane's plate.

"Apparently you aren't much either," I had said to him when the food flew across the room back to their pans.

"You'll pay for that one, Padfoot," Remus threatened slowly.

"Pssht. What else could you possibly do?"

To this day, I blame the Black family's signature insanity trait for my inability to quit while I was ahead. If I had have quit before I said that particular statement, then I might not have been forced to walk on my hands the rest of the day due to Remus's uncanny ability to perform some particularly powerful wandless spells. Which taught me one thing that day: never get in between Remus and his breakfast and especially never boast about it. And as all lessons go, I guess I learned that a little too late.

* * *

The next month passed rather quickly. We spent the majority of it planning for the wedding; actually I spent the majority of that month avoiding wedding plans. That lasted for about a couple weeks until Diane realized what I was doing and put a temporary sticking charm on the chair I sat in at the table; therefore forcing me to sit through the plans. Remus had thought it was funny and would not stop laughing until I had charmed his shoes to stick to the kitchen floor. Needless to say, I did not try to avoid the planning thereafter, and Remus did not laugh at my misfortunes for a while to come.

24 May came soon enough, and I woke that morning to drawers being open and slamming shut not even a minute later.

"Padfoot! Where's my dress robes?" Remus's frantic voice penetrated my sleeping brain.

Did Remus actually expect me to answer him that morning? I have honestly wondered that to this day, but rather or not he did, Remus did not immediately receive an intelligible answer from me.

"Padfoot!"

Somehow, I think he did want an answer, but I had fallen back asleep almost instantly after he had first spoken.

"Padfoot!"

He said my name for the third time, or at least it was the third time I registered him saying my name, and the next thing I knew I was flying out of my bed; the first of three clues that Remus was uncharacteristically a bundle of nerves. I yelped in surprise the moment I was hoisted in the air by Remus's silent spell and opened my eyes a millisecond before I crashed into the wall beside the door.

"What, Moony?" I had asked sharply, rubbing my shoulder futilely to try to relieve some pain from my rather intimate meeting of my bedroom wall.

"Are you awake, now?" Remus had asked annoyed.

"I dunno," I replied sarcastically. "Why don't I throw you across the room when you're asleep and see if you wake up?"

Remus had just ignored my retort, giving me the upper hand instead of securing it for himself: my second clue.

"Your dress robes are over there in the wardrobe by my jumper," I had replied, hoping I had heard his earlier question correctly.

Apparently I had, because Remus dropped the pile of trousers he had been holding for some unknown reason to me and walked over to the wardrobe.

"Moony, you know it's still two hours until the wedding, don't you?" I had asked after looking to my alarm clock for the time.

"Padfoot, two hours is no time," he had replied as he changed into his dress robes with a wave of his wand. "You of all people should know that."

He was right; I should have known that. That was a variant one of Lily's favourite sayings: "(Insert time amount here) is no time in the bigger picture." I reckon she must have told the three of us (that is Remus, James, and I) that at least three times a day—sometimes more. I can remember probably the last time I heard her say that. It was a couple days before they were killed, and Dumbledore had insisted on meeting with the two of them, which meant they had to leave baby Harry in the care of Remus and me. James had been bummed that Dumbledore could not get away from Hogwarts to come visit them and that they had to go visit him instead. They were bidding Harry bye and leaving strict instructions for Remus and I to follow, not that we particularly needed them: we cared about Harry as much as they did. James had complained and said something along the lines of: "But, Lils, that is three hours that I don't get to spend with Harry." Of course, Lily being Lily had replied, "But, James, three hours is no time in the bigger picture. You're going to spend the next ten or so years with him, and if you're complaining about a measly little time such as three hours, it makes me wonder how you're going to react when he leaves for Hogwarts for the better part of ten months." Although Lily had a point made a fine point, I could tell she agreed James. The sad reality of it all was that Lily was unfortunately wrong: James did not get the pleasure of spending the next ten or so years with Harry, instead he got the next forty-eight hours. I reckon I should amend my previous statement. James did not get to spend the next ten or so years tangibly with Harry, for I believe he and Lily were never too far away from Harry.

"You know, if Prongs were here today he would say that you're sitting on the wrong part of your broom," I told Remus, laughing as the spell he originally meant to tie his muggle black Oxford shoes with separately, tied the two shoes together.

"Yeah, and I would tell him that I don't particularly fancy sitting on a broom at all," Remus had replied after he untied his shoes and the retied without magic.

"Sirius!" Augusta Longbottom's voice floated up the stairs and interrupted our conversation.

"Up here," I called back. "But don't bring Diane; it's bad luck for a bride to see a groom before a wedding."

"She's still at the Granger's," Augusta replied.

"You don't seriously believe that, do you, Padfoot?" Remus had asked exasperatedly.

"Believe what?"

"The whole thing about the bride seeing the groom before a wedding being bad luck," Remus had clarified.

"Let's just say my not-so-dear old mum saw my equally-not-so-dear old pop and that wasn't exactly the happiest of marriages."

"But, Padfoot, you're parents aren't exactly the greatest people," Remus had reasoned.

"True, but just think if you and Diane end up like those two did," I had teased him, "and all because you broke the golden rule of weddings."

"What golden rule?" Augusta had asked as she walked into the room.

"The whole bride seeing groom thing before the wedding," Remus had replied. "Padfoot here seems to believe that superstition about it being bad luck."

"Sirius does have his moments, Remus," Augusta pointed out.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I had asked.

"That this particular one isn't one of them, unlike a few minutes ago," she had replied.

"Is there something you wanted, Augusta?" Remus had asked.

"Oh, yes, the guests are here," she answered. "It's time to head on down and get this whole thing going."

"This quick?"

"Remus, dear, the ceremony's in less than an hour," Augusta had replied.

Remus glanced over at the clock.

"And so it is."

* * *

The wedding ceremony was simple and exactly the way Diane and Remus wanted it. I stood at the alter as Remus's best man not even an hour after our conversation with Augusta and watched as the ceremony ensued. They had chosen to have one bridesmaid and one groomsman, which were Jeanette and David, and they were followed up the aisle by Augusta, the maid of honour. Harry and Hermione walked up the aisle behind her as the ring bearer and flower girl, respectively, and finally Diane was escorted by her father. They exchanged their vows outside in the garden in front of the priest and our small group of friends and family, Dumbledore, Neville, and Diane's mum among them.

Afterward, there was a small reception at the house, wherein only a couple of things out of the ordinary happened, one of which took place during the dancing ceremony. Diane's mum had insisted the best man and maid of honour share the second dance with the bride and groom, and needless to say, I soon showed Augusta my two left feet. I suppose I do not have to say that I only danced, or rather attempted to dance, once that night. The other out of the ordinary thing that happened was during the cutting of the cake ceremony. When we had first went inside for the reception, I had slipped a piece of an acid pop into the wedding cake when no one was looking, and thankfully it was Remus who ate that particular piece when the two of them cut the cake together and proceeded to stuff a piece into each others' mouth. Though I do not doubt Remus immediately knew who the perpetrator was, he did nothing in retaliation that night.

Soon after the reception, the bride and groom left under a shower of rice and lily flower petals for their honeymoon at some of Diane's family's vacation home in Italy, leaving Harry and me on our own for the next seven days. The most either of them could hope for was that Diane's kitchen remained in tact and Remus's chocolate remained unscathed.

And I can say this with certainty, for that little point in our crazy lives, life was good, even though I was well aware Remus would soon have his vengeance for the acid pop thing.

* * *

**A/N: And so you have the long awaited wedding of Diane and Remus, just as I thankfully have Internet. Hopefully the next chapter won't take eleven days to post like this one did. This chapter, though, is the longest (just barely) so far, so that should count for something. =]  
**

**Anyways, please review.  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**As usual, I do not own anything you recognize.**

18 July 1983, a date forever burnt into my mind as the day in which everything started to go down hill. Back then, however, I would have thought you were Confunded to say such a thing about it, but how wrong I would have been. Life was perfect at that time—or as close to so as fate would allow, and I was a fool to think anything would go wrong.

I woke that morning with my mind far from the events of Remus and Diane's wedding a couple months prior, but just because I had forgotten did not mean everyone in the house had. The first thing I realized was the fact that there were exploding bonbons surrounding me, and the second thing I realized, just before they exploded, was my complete stupidity.

With smoke surrounding me, I heard Remus say, "Don't tell me you were trying to think, Padfoot."

Amusement had laced his voice, and as the smoke had cleared, I could see him standing just inside of my room with Harry in his arms.

"Think? No. Sleep? Yes."

"Uncle Moony says it dangerous when Uncle Padfoot thinks," Harry had said.

"Did he now?" I had asked him, sitting up in my bed and assessing the damage.

"Yes, and sometimes I happen to be right," Remus replied.

I ignored him and reached for my wand.

"And you are wishing this time would be one of them?" I asked as I repaired the scorch marks and smoke damage.

"Wishing not so much," Remus had answered before he backed out of my room. "Knowing… well that's a different story."

"Is this for the whole acid pop thing in your wedding cake a couple months ago?" I had asked him as I followed him down the hallway.

"Nope," Remus answered. "Harry just wanted to wake you up."

He took the stairs relaxed with Harry still in his arms, and I followed, completely convinced nothing would happen to me if it did not happen to him, which was my second miscalculation that morning.

He was probably two, three steps ahead of me, and when he reached the landing, he kept walking towards the lounge. I had full intents on following him, but when I reached the landing, I was thrown backwards up the stairs and crashed into the potted plant Diane had insisted on placing there.

"_That _was for the acid pop thing," he called over his shoulder.

* * *

An hour later, one in which I tried and failed every means of getting downstairs, I finally decided to apparate to Augusta's house, seeing as I could go no where in my own.

"Well, good morning to you, Sirius," Augusta called through her opened window. "Do come in."

I obliged, walking up the pathway that led to the two story house that had been passed down through the Longbottom family.

"You don't sound surprised to see me, Augusta," I said to her as I entered the lounge.

"Oh, Diane owled me a few minutes ago and said I should be expecting you," she replied. "She explained the stairs, and I figured it was only a matter of time before you realized that the moment you left the house, the spell would wear off." She paused and laughed. "You can use the fireplace to get back."

"Thank you, Augusta," I said to her as I walked through the red and yellow lounge.

"What about Diane's birthday party?"

I stopped and turned to her.

"Birthday party? Wha… Merlin's beard! Her birthday is today, isn't it?"

"I'll have to tell her about this," Augusta said. "How do you think she'd react if she knew you forgot her twenty-third birthday?"

"Oh, come on, Augusta, please don't tell her," I begged her. "I just got off of kitchen duty."

"You know eventually, Sirius, you're going to become quiet adept in the kitchen."

"Involuntarily."

"Here's some Floo Powder," Augusta said with a laugh. "Neville and I will be by around supper."

She handed me a small pot of Floo Powder, and I grabbed a handful.

"The Marauders' Place!" I said, throwing it into the fire. "I'll see you later. You and Neville will be by before the party, right?"

"Yes, we'll be there about an hour before the party," Augusta replied.

I walked into that fire not knowing that on the other end, my life, as I knew it, would change forever.

I have heard somewhere that it is better if you do not know what is waiting on the other side. I suppose that was one of those times. I cannot say that I would have done anything different, though, if I had have known what I was going to be faced with—if I would have known 18 July 1983 was going to be the day in which everything started to go downhill for me...for all of us.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived back was not the fact that Harry was staring at the fireplace, but it was the eerie quietness that seemed to have enveloped over the house.

"Moony? Diane?" I called.

The only answer I received was my voice echoing back at me.

"Moony? Diane?" I called again, more urgently than the first time.

"They in the kitchen," Harry's small voice, laced with anxiety and fear, answered me the second time I asked.

I did not pause to wonder why Harry had been standing in the lounge as though he was waiting on me because I knew that whatever the reason was, it was urgent. I ran into the kitchen and the scene I was met with stopped any oxygen from reaching my lungs: Diane was seizing on the floor as Remus was bent over her begging her to stay with him.

"Dear sweet Merlin!"

Remus did not look up at me. He just merely said, "Get help."

It was a simple order, one that I should have obeyed without hesitation, but I faltered.

"Padfoot!" Remus's voice had passed worry by that time and had gone to full-out anxiety, and yet I still hesitated.

You know, it is borderline comical how at the most crucial moments in your life, you are sent down memory lane. In that moment in time I was not standing in the kitchen of our house just outside of the village of Ottery St. Catchpole. Instead, I was standing on the grounds of Hogwarts on 6 November 1976 just in front of the Whomping Willow. The scene in my memory paralleled the one I was witnessing, but instead it was James bending over Snape as he tried to wake him up from his black out upon seeing Remus in his werewolf form.

"YOU IDIOT, PADFOOT!" James screamed at me in my memory.

"DO SOMETHING, PADFOOT!" Remus screamed at me in reality.

I did not register Remus's yell, instead I watched as James, for the first time since I had known him, glared up at me, his eyes rooting me to the ground by the pure hatred burning in them. In reality, Remus looked up at me as well, his eyes strained from worry.

"HE COULD HAVE DIED!" James yelled.

"SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" Remus paralleled.

In both times, 1976 and 1983, in both places, Hogwarts grounds and our kitchen, I stood staring at the scene dumbfounded.

"WHY DID YOU DO SOMETHING THIS STUPID?" James bellowed in my memory.

"WHY AREN'T YOU DOING SOMETHING TO HELP HER?" Remus matched.

"I don't know. I…" I said in response to both James and Remus, my two best friends, a little over six years apart.

"Padfoot, please!" James's plea faded quickly into Remus's voice and I snapped back into reality.

I shook my head to rid my mind of the memory and took one more look at the scene. Wasting no more time, I turned and ran back to the fireplace. My mind was still reeling from my travel back from Augusta's, but I threw Floo Powder into the fire, stepped in, and yelled, "ST. MUNGO'S HOSPITAL, MEDIWIZARD HEADQUARTERS!"

* * *

Time seemed to move in slow motion. The mediwizards came around five minutes later, but to me it seemed like four hours later. Remus went to St. Mungos with her while I stayed with Harry. Every second that passed during that time felt like years.

Three hours passed like that. I sat in the arm chair watching the fire and jumping up every time the flames seemed to change colors. Harry, being too young to fully know what was going on but old enough to know something was, had curled up in my lap and watched the fire with me. The only sound to be heard was the ticking of the clock and the crackling of the fire, and time still passed.

I do not know how long Harry and I sat like that before there was a knock at the door. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. I made no movement to get up, and a few minutes later someone peered through the window. It was Augusta, and as soon as she looked through the window, she ran in with Neville at her heels.

"Sirius?" she asked as she dropped to her knees in front of me.

I did not reply. I just simply continued starting into the fire.

She looked around.

"Where are Remus and Diane?"

I could not find my voice to answer her, but she must have figured out the answer on her own because she looked from me to the fire and back again.

"What happened?"

I did not answer because I did not know.

She spoke next to Harry and Neville.

"Over there is Uncle Moony's chess set," she said, picking Harry up out of my lap and sitting him on the floor. "Why don't you two go play a couple of games?"

Harry and Neville obliged, and Augusta walked over to the fire.

"Hogwarts, Dumbledore's office!" she threw a handful of Floo Powder in the fire and stuck her head in.

A few minutes later, she backed out of the fire, but the fire stayed green. Dumbledore emerged and had not much more than stepped out of the fire before someone followed him. That someone, with her piercing green eyes and her graying black hair pulled back in a tight bun, wore emerald green robes and the same grim expression I had not seen in almost three years.

Professor Minerva McGonagall, the head of my old house at Hogwarts, looked down at me, and spoke in a wild voice, "Sirius, what happened?"

I do not know why I answered her and not Augusta. Maybe it was because I was so used to having to explain myself to her thanks to my years as a Marauder at Hogwarts. Or maybe it was because somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered her from 1 November 1981…

* * *

It was after midnight, barely two hours after Dumbledore had informed the three of us that we were to keep Harry, when McGonagall had bounded through the door looking as though she could commit murder with her bare hands or take on every death eater left single-handedly.

"Albus, tell me he's dead," she had cornered in on Dumbledore, and even he had taken an involuntary step backwards.

"Who are you referring to, my dear Professor?" Dumbledore had asked kindly.

"That traitor," she had spat.

"If you are referring to Peter Pettigrew, then alas he is not; he's on his way to Azkaban."

"Peter? That boy doesn't have a traitorous bone in his body. I was referring to that Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Dumbledore had repeated. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, Minerva."

"Mistaken?" she had asked. "How can I be mistaken? That traitor passed information along to You-Know-Who! That traitor is the reason James and Lily Potter are dead!"

"You would be quiet correct," Dumbledore agreed. "However, you are blaming the wrong wizard."

"Wrong wizard?" Professor McGonagall asked.

She looked around, and her eyes fell on me.

"You!" her wand was out before I could even register what was happening.

"Now, Minerva, just be patient and hear Mister Black out," Dumbledore had said.

"Hear him out?"

"Minerva," Dumbledore had said sharply.

"OK, _fine_," Professor McGonagall had relented. "But only because I have yet to know you to be wrong."

"Mister Black, if you would."

I had never felt like a cornered dog in all my life, and in that moment as Professor McGonagall pierced me with a lethal glare, I wanted nothing more than to turn into my animagus and run away from it all. I did not, though, because I had to be there for Harry just like Lily and James had wanted me to be.

"I did not betray J-James and Lily," I began in a hoarse voice. "I convinced them to make Peter they're secret keeper instead of me in hopes that Voldemort would come after me and leave them alone. We didn't tell anyone, not Dumbledore, not Mo—Remus. It was a brilliant plan, but how was I supposed to know that Peter was a follower of Voldemort? That Peter would betray James and Lily? That Peter would betray all of us?"

I stopped talking for a minute and took a long drink of water as I gauged Professor McGonagall's reaction. The anger in her eyes had faded a little bit, but her wand still pointed at my heart.

"So earlier, I thought something was off," I continued. "I hadn't seen Peter since our last Order meeting a week or so ago. I went to Peter's place first and found that he wasn't there so I went to Dumbledore. If Voldemort was on his way to James and Lily's place, I knew Dumbledore was the man to take with me. I explained everything to him: my gut feeling, Peter's absence, and finally our trade for secret keepers. He told me to stay at Hogwarts in his office while he went to see James and Lily, but I didn't. I couldn't stand not knowing. I Floo'ed back to my place and apparated from there because I knew James and Lily weren't connecting to the Floo Network. I found the house in ruins, and by the time I had gotten there, Dumbledore had sent Harry with Hagrid. Mad-Eye cornered me and held me until the hit wizards arrived. In that time, I told Mad-Eye about Peter's animagus abilities, and he sent me here where I've been ever since."

I stopped talking when Professor McGonagall lowered her wand.

"My apologies, Mister Black," she had said and I did not see her again until she emerged from my fireplace after Dumbledore…

* * *

"Sirius?" Professor McGonagall had repeated my name.

I snapped back into reality, and found my voice to answer her.

"I don't know. I came back from Augusta's and found Diane having some sort of seizure and Moony yelling at me telling me to get help."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall shared a look.

"And where did you find them?" Dumbledore asked.

"In there," I had replied, pointing to the kitchen.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall walked in there, and after a few seconds of hesitation, I followed. Dumbledore was examining the parcels that lay out on the table.

"Diane's birthday is today?" Dumbledore had asked as he looked at an opened letter.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"What is it, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"A letter," he replied as he pulled out his wand and tapped it, "that has been cursed."

"Cursed?" Augusta repeated.

"Who is it from?" I had asked.

"It doesn't say," Dumbledore replied. "Do you recognize the handwriting?"

I walked over to the table and looked at the letter in question.

"It's written by a pureblood, I do know that," I had said. "You see how it's in perfect script? All of the older pureblood families associated with the dark arts are taught to write like that. They say it is a sign of superiority. My dear old mum hired an old hag to teach Regulus and me the unfortunately not-lost art of calligraphy. I lost many desserts, and a few meals, because my script wasn't perfect."

The other three laughed a little at my memory but soon turned serious.

"You think it was some of Voldemort's followers?" Professor McGonagall asked, almost taking me by surprise of her use of his name, but then I remembered who she worked with year round.

"I have no doubt it was, my dear Professor," Dumbledore replied.

"Do you know what kind of curse it was?" Augusta asked.

"Alas, I do not," Dumbledore answered her.

"Dumbledore, tell me you can do something—anything," a strained voice spoke from the doorway.

I turned and found Remus standing there looking older and more anxious than I had last seen him.

"Moony, how is she?" I had asked him, cutting off Dumbledore's reply.

He sighed before answering, "She's stable, but that's all they can do until they know something more. They sent me home, saying I should get some rest."

"I think that's the best thing for you now, Remus," Dumbledore agreed. "As for there being anything I can do, there is. If you would allow me to borrow this letter, I could figure out what curse has been placed on it."

"Take it."

"It isn't signed," Professor McGonagall pointed out. "Do you know who it is from?"

Remus shook his head.

"That's why she opened it," he said.

"Uncle Moony?" a small voice said from behind him.

"Harry," Remus said picking him and Neville up at the same time. "Neville."

"Where is Aunt Dee?" Harry asked innocently.

Remus met my eye before answering Harry.

"She's not feeling too well so the healers kept her at the hospital."

"Oh," Harry said.

"Moony, who that?" Neville asked, pointing at Professor McGonagall.

"That, Neville is Professor Minerva McGonagall," Remus replied, happy for a subject change. "She's the head of Gryffindor house and teaches transfiguration at Hogwarts."

"Professor M'Gon'gall?" Neville repeated.

"He looks just like Frank and Alice," Professor McGonagall told Augusta quietly. "How are they?"

"Taking it one day at a time," Augusta answered.

Professor McGonagall nodded in response.

"Remus, may I have a word with you?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus set Harry and Neville down on the ground. The two immediately walked towards Professor McGonagall as Remus and Dumbledore walked into the lounge.

"Well, I guess this cancels our plans tonight," Augusta said.

I made an agreeing sound in my throat and watched as Professor McGonagall transfigured a cup into a white bird for Neville and Harry.

"You want to tell the Grangers or shall I?"

"Do you mind, Augusta?" I asked.

"Not at all," she replied as Dumbledore and Remus came back into the kitchen.

"I guess we should get back to Hogwarts, Minerva. We can probably get a couple more hours of work on the wards and such before we call it a day," Dumbledore said.

"You're right, Albus," Professor McGonagall agreed, turning the bird into a cup once again. "I still have to help Hagrid repair the carriages."

"I'll be by tomorrow with an update," Dumbledore said.

"Have some chocolate, Remus, and get some sleep," Professor McGonagall instructed.

With one last look at us, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall Floo'ed back to Hogwarts.

"With Dumbledore's help, Diane'll be fine, Remus," Augusta said.

Remus sighed.

"I hope."

Silence fell over us for a few minutes.

"Well, I'm off to the Grangers to tell them," Augusta said, breaking the silence. "Let's go, Neville."

Augusta shut the door behind them. I turned to Remus.

"What if she's wrong, Padfoot?"

I did not answer him because I did not know what to say.

He sighed and shook his head and started to walk off.

"Moony, where are you going?" I called after him.

"To be alone."

"Moony, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Remus said nothing in response. He just walked up the stairs without a glance back in my direction.

18 July 1983 could arguably be one of the worst days of my life—of our lives—raising Harry. I was helpless, and for the first time in a little under two years, the sense of everlasting dread returned to my body. The best I could hope for—the best any of us could hope for was that things were going to get better, but even that was not guaranteed to happen.

* * *

**A/N: Another long chapter. =] **

**Please Review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I own nothing, but you already knew that, didn't you?**

Time after that fateful day passed rather slowly and quickly became quite repetitive.

Every morning, I got up, went downstairs to see Remus leaving via the fireplace to St. Mungos, and fed Harry his breakfast. Afterwards I would drop Harry off at Augusta's or the Grangers' and go to Hogwarts where Dumbledore, McGonagall, and I would work on identifying and reversing the curse. Remus would come by later on, always after the healers had long since kicked him out for the day, and we would all work until nightfall. Then Remus and I would bid Dumbledore and McGonagall good-bye and Floo home. Remus would head straight to bed while I went over to the Grangers' or Augusta's and picked up Harry.

And every night I dreamed the same thing: a horrifying battle. It was always the same, as much so as the rest of my life was during that time. I was standing on a dais in front of an ancient stone archway fighting against my dear cousin Bellatrix. Other than the fact that she was residing in Azkaban prison, I do not know why I chose her to fight; I mean if my subconscious was choosing random evil witches and wizards to fight against, I would have rather chosen to fight against Voldemort himself.

There were other people there fighting alongside me, one of which I recognized from the Order of the Phoenix: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. He was on the other side of the room fighting against a masked Death Eater. Remus, standing just to my right, was fighting against a Death Eater I recognized as Dolohov, and Diane, standing a little off to my right behind me, was fighting against another masked Death Eater. On the other side of the room, around where Mad-Eye was, a witch, who looked remarkably familiar, with a heart shaped face and bubblegum pink hair was fighting against a Death Eater I identified as Lucius Malfoy, while a tall bald black wizard who wore a single gold hoop earring was holding his own against two Death Eaters. We were all doing well.

Then everything changed. Dolohov missed Remus and searing pain erupted on my right side. I hit my knees as Diane defeated the Death Eater she had been fighting and sent a curse at Dolohov. She hit him head on, but there was no time for celebration: Bellatrix, aiming for Remus, shot the killing curse in all of our direction, and then I would wake up.

* * *

One day stands out firmly in my mind: 29 October 1983. At first glance, the day was like any other, or at least that is how I presumed it to be, but it was anything but.

I woke up that morning in a cold sweat, the kind that long after you have woken up and dried off still stays with you, and went downstairs to find that the lounge was already occupied. I walked in and sat down on the sofa beside Remus and waited patiently for whatever news Dumbledore and McGonagall had came to share.

"Where's Harry and Augusta?" McGonagall had asked before anyone else would say anything.

"I dropped Harry off at the Grangers. Neville was there as well," Remus answered stiffly. "Augusta went to visit Frank and Alice this morning. She said she was going to stop by and see Diane while she was there."

"Is there new information on Diane's condition?" I asked.

Dumbledore hesitated.

"Albus?" Remus asked.

Dumbledore shared a look with McGonagall before turning back to us.

"We were able to identify the curse that was on the letter," Dumbledore said.

"Is there a counter curse?" Remus asked hopefully.

Dumbledore hesitated.

"No."

"SO WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? JUST SIT AROUND AND WATCH HER DIE?" Remus bellowed.

"No, Remus, calm down," Dumbledore said.

"CALM DOWN? MY WIFE IS DYING, YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO TO SAVE HER, AND YOU WANT ME TO JUST CALM DOWN?" Remus continued.

"We didn't say there was nothing we could do," McGonagall had said sharply. "We just said there was no counter curse."

"So we can save her?" I asked.

"There is a way," Dumbledore nodded.

"Then why are we sitting here?" Remus asked. "We should be doing it!"

"Moony, calm down," I said.

"How can you tell me to calm down, Padfoot?" he asked me wildly.

"Because if you don't, you'll have no hair left," I said, nodding to his hands grasping his hair.

Remus dropped his hands rather sheepishly and turned to Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"There is a potion," McGonagall said.

"A potion?" I repeated skeptically.

"Yes, but it is a rather complicated potion," McGonagall continued. "One that neither I nor Albus think we can brew without professional help."

"And that means…" Remus trailed off.

"No!" I said, realizing what she was implying.

"Professor Snape would be able to brew the potion effortlessly," Dumbledore said.

"Yeah and effortlessly poison it in the process," I muttered.

Dumbledore looked at me sharply. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but McGonagall cut me off.

"Why don't we—" McGonagall said.

She stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked beyond Remus and me to the fireplace.

"She's gone," Augusta's voice emerged from behind me.

* * *

I sat up in bed and looked around for a moment in confusion, before I realized it was a dream—a nightmare. Then I heard voices from downstairs, and recognized them as Remus, Dumbledore, and McGonagall's. I got out of bed and slowly made my way down to the lounge where I found the three of them the exact same way as in my dream. I sat on the arm rest of the sofa this time, praying my dream would not become reality.

"Good morning, Sirius," Dumbledore greeted me.

Good, that was different.

"Morning, Albus, Minerva," I returned. "What brings you here?"

"We have a new development on the curse," Dumbledore answered.

"So you were able to identify it?" I asked.

Dumbledore nodded.

"Is there a counter curse?" Remus asked just like he had in my dream.

Dumbledore hesitated long enough for both Remus and me to know the answer.

"ARE WE SUPPOSED TO JUST SIT BACK AND WATCH HER DIE?" Remus roared.

"No, Moony, there's a way to save her," I answered, much to all their surprise.

"I do not recall you taking an interest in legilimency, Sirius," McGonagall said.

"I, er—déjà vu?" I tried.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at me.

"My dreams last night," I continued. "They pertained to this."

He nodded in understanding.

"There is a potion," Dumbledore told Remus.

"But it's highly advanced," McGonagall finished.

"So much so that _Snivellus_ would have to make it," I said.

"Snape hates me, Albus," Remus said slowly, "and you know that. He'd never brew it for me."

"I believe he would do more than you would think, Remus," Dumbledore replied gently. "Besides, Diane's close to a soft spot for Severus—he would brew it."

Remus looked at Dumbledore doubtfully, but neither had a chance to say anything more as Augusta appeared out of the fire. I bit my lip, but there was no need. There was no anxiety anywhere on her face.

"Why in Merlin's gracious name did any wizard think traveling by fire would be _fun_," Augusta muttered to herself. "Good morning all."

"It's nice of you to join us, Augusta," Dumbledore greeted.

"Yes, we were just discussing the curse on Diane," McGonagall said.

"Did you ever find out who sent it?" Augusta asked.

"Alas, no," Dumbledore said, "but we were able to identify it."

"And?"

"It is a variation of the _lethargus_ curse," Dumbledore continued.

"The _lethargus _curse?" Augusta repeated. "Doesn't that put the subject in an endless coma?"

"It does," Dumbledore agreed somberly. "Lucky for us, though, is that whoever put the curse on the letter used a variation of it—a variation that has a treatment."

"A treatment?" Augusta repeated. "What is it?"

"A potion," McGonagall answered.

"That _Snivellus_ has to brew," I added.

Augusta smiled at my statement.

"It's funny how the past can come back and bite you in the bum, so to speak," Augusta said. "Although I do not think _he_ would think it would be so."

Remus and I exchanged a look of confusion.

"What are we missing?" Remus asked.

"A potion," McGonagall answered, though it was not the answer either of us were looking for. "We should head to Hogwarts now and get to work on it."

Both Augusta and McGonagall walked over to the fireplace and Floo'ed out simultaneously, before either Remus or I could say another word, leaving us to look at each other in confusion.

"Do you ever get the feeling women know more than they let on?" Remus asked.

"Everyday of my life," I replied.

Dumbledore laughed, before he followed the women to Hogwarts.

* * *

"Need I remind you, Severus, of a certain night in August of 1974?" Dumbledore was saying when I arrived in his office.

I stepped out of the fire and dusted myself off.

"No and you don't need to remind _them_ either," Snape replied stiffly.

I looked over at Remus in confusion.

"I don't know," he muttered. "But it's just like I told Albus, he doesn't want to do it."

"Albus seemed to be certain he'd help, though," Augusta said to him.

"Well, sometimes he can be wrong," Remus said.

"Very well, Dumbledore," Snape said heavily. "It will be done in two days."

"That soon?" Dumbledore asked astonished.

"It must be brewed during the time of a waning moon," Snape replied. "Tonight is the perfect time to start."

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said.

Snape nodded once to Dumbledore, before walking out of the room without even the slightest glance in our direction.

* * *

Two days passed, and I found myself standing awkwardly in Diane's hospital room as the healers gave her the potion Snape had grudgingly brewed. Remus, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Augusta, Harry, Neville, and I were all crowded anxiously around her bed.

"Do you think it's going to work?" Remus asked frantically.

"Professor Snape would make sure of it," Dumbledore said.

"Why are you so certain?" I asked skeptically.

"So certain of what?" a voice I had not heard for almost three months spoke those four precious words.

I could have jumped for joy in that moment in time. I probably would have, had I not been standing between Augusta and McGonagall, both of whom were holding Neville and Harry, respectively.

"You're awake," Remus said, immediately hugging her.

"Of course I am," Diane replied. "I couldn't leave the two of you to take care of Harry and the house alone for ever could I?"

Everyone laughed.

"So you expect the house to be in smoldering ruins?" I asked.

"If the broom flies…"

"You don't give us enough credit, Diane," I said.

"What do you think, Harry?" Diane asked. "Can those two be trusted with the house?"

"No, Aunt Dee," Harry replied. "Professor M'Gon'gall and Dum'ledore fix kitchen when Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot destroy it."

"You destroyed my kitchen?" she rounded on Remus and me.

"Padfoot thought it was funny," Neville added.

Diane laughed, menacingly.

"You know, Padfoot," Remus said to me. "The next time you destroy the kitchen, we shouldn't let these two know."

"You just implied that I destroyed the kitchen _alone_," I said. "If I recall correctly, you're the one who set Harry's birthday cake on fire, not me."

"But I didn't proceed in catching the table on fire," Remus said indignantly.

"No, but it was funny when you tried to put it out and said the spell wrong," I replied. "Who knew one misspoke syllable could have the opposite effect than you wanted?"

"_You _weren't helping me put it out then!" Remus said.

"How could I?" I asked. "I was laughing too hard."

Remus narrowed his eyes at me. I barked out a laugh.

"So certain of what, Sirius?" Diane repeated.

"Huh?"

"You were saying Dumbledore was so certain of something when I woke up," Diane explained.

"Oh, about _Snivellus _making sure that potion worked," I replied. "And why would that be?"

"I saved his life a couple of years ago," Diane answered simply.

"Yes, that would be a good reason," Augusta said.

"It doesn't seem like it has been two years," McGonagall reflected.

A somber silence fell over the room.

"Wonder what Prongs would say if he knew we had to get _Snivellus's _help to save Diane's life?" I asked Remus.

"He'd probably be shocked to silence," Remus replied. "Either that or swear up and down we'd been Confunded."

"Uncle Padfoot?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Can I tell Aunt Dee 'bout you eating her birfday Pumpkin Pastries?"

"Er, Harry, it's probably not the best time to," I replied.

"You WHAT?"

So all in all, 31 October 1983, completely unlike the same day two years prior, was one of the better days of my life.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the delayed update. My family's been in and Mom forbid me from getting on the computer. They finally left, and I got to work on this... and then more came so I was banned from the computer again. **

**Please ****Review****.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: It's been a while, but I still own nothing.**

"Padfoot! Uncle Padfoot! Wake up!" Harry's high pitched toddler voice penetrated my sleeping brain. "Uncle Moony's hair is green!"

Almost eight months had passed since that October, and that particular day was sometime in June of 1984. I was sleeping quite contently and dreaming of a quidditch match, if I recall correctly.

"That's great, Harry," I had mumbled in response, my mind not quite comprehending what he had actually said.

Not much had changed in eight months. Harry grew like a venomous tentacula, though, and his speech was almost flawless. When Diane was back on her feet, she decided to quit her job at the antique store and become a full time potions master. That meant she was home most of the time, but neither Harry nor I minded. And Remus had—wait!

"MOONY'S HAIR IS GREEN?" I had repeated, my mind finally grasping what Harry had said.

I jumped up out of bed and grabbed my wand before I ran across the hall to his and Diane's bedroom. I stopped in dead in my tracks, fighting the urge to burst out laughing upon my first glance of Remus.

"Never knew you fancied green, Moony," I had said instead of laughing.

He glared at me.

"This is all your fault, Padfoot."

"My fault?" I had repeated, unable to keep the smile off my face.

"Yes, your fault," Remus said, picking up his wand to try to change his hair color back to normal. "You're the git who bought that vial of prank shampoo."

"Er, Moony, that vial of prank shampoo would turn your hair bight pink," I replied.

Remus froze and turned slowly to look at me. I threw my hands up in innocence.

"Besides the fact that I did not know anything about your new hairstyle before Harry woke me up," I had said.

There was a knock at the door downstairs, and before Remus could say anything else, I backed out of the room to go answer it.

The man standing on the other side was a thin man with red hair and glasses. At his leg were a small boy and girl that looked to be around Harry's age, both with fiery red hair.

"My name is Arthur Weasley, and I live just down the road there," the man introduced. "I was wondering if you have seen a pair of red-haired twin boys. They're about six and probably up to some sort of mischief."

"Arthur Weasley, you say?" I repeated. "Did you happen to marry the Prewett brothers' younger sister, er, Molly?"

Surprise flooded his face.

"Why yes I did," he replied.

"Name's Sirius Black," I introduced myself and watched as the expression on his face transformed to recognition. "I was in the Order with Gideon and Fabian; those two were a couple of the greatest wizards I've ever known."

"You were friends with the Potters," Arthur stated.

"I was," I said.

Arthur nodded sadly.

"So you say you're looking for a pair of twin boys?" I had asked in attempt to change the subject.

"Fred and George," he said.

"I haven't seen them, but Merlin knows I've not been awake long," I replied.

"If you happen to see them…" Arthur trailed off.

"We'll owl you," I said.

A shout of glee erupted behind me. I turned to find Harry sliding down the banister with a wand in his hand and Remus chasing him, his hair still lime green.

"Harry!" Remus shouted after him.

Harry giggled enthusiastically and ran over to me.

"Merlin's beard, is that Harry Potter?" Arthur asked.

I looked down at Harry.

"It is," I replied. "Harry, this is Arthur Weasley; he's our neighbour. Arthur, if you don't mind me calling you by your first name, this is Harry."

Arthur bent down to eye level with Harry.

"Hello, Harry," he greeted.

"Hello," Harry had replied, tucking Remus's wand under his left arm.

"That's a nice wand you have there," Arthur said.

"Uncle Moony's hair is green," Harry said simply.

"Really?" Arthur said, looking up at Remus. "Merlin's beard it is, and it looks to be the doing of my two."

"Arthur, this is Remus Lupin," I introduced. "Moony, this is Arthur Weasley."

"You say this looks to be your two's doing?" Remus asked politely.

"My apologies, Remus," Arthur said.

"Nonsense," Diane put in, walking from the kitchen. "He loves green."

Remus shot his wife a questioning look.

"Arthur, this _lovely_ lady is my wife, Diane," Remus said.

"Pleasure to meet you," Arthur said.

"Likewise," Diane said. "And who would they be?"

She nodded to the children at Arthur's feet.

"Oh, this is Ron and Ginny, my two youngest," Arthur said. "I was just telling Sirius here that I'm looking for my twins. They're about six and have red hair; have you seen them?"

Diane shook her head.

"I haven't," she said. "But you're welcome to leave Ron and Ginny here while you look for them."

"I wouldn't want to be a bother," Arthur replied.

"It's no bother," Diane had assured him. "Harry, why don't you take Ron and Ginny upstairs to play?"

Harry at once offered his hand to Ron.

"You like wizard's chess?" he asked.

Ron's face lightened up.

"Love it."

"Then come on; you too, Ginny," Harry said enthusiastically, leading the two up the stairs.

"See, Padfoot, I told you chess would come in handy one of these days," Remus said laughing.

"You taught him chess?" Arthur asked Remus.

Remus nodded.

"Against the wishes of Mister Quidditch over there," Remus replied.

Arthur laughed.

"My dad taught Ron," he said. "He always said any good wizard should know the game of wizard's chess."

"Smart man," Remus commented.

"So, these twins of yours, do you need help finding them?" I had offered in attempt to keep Remus from going on one of his chess tangents.

"Molly and I have been looking for them all morning," he replied. "We even have Percy, our oldest son who isn't at Hogwarts, out looking for them as well, but I do think we could use the extra help if you don't mind."

"We don't mind at all," Diane answered. "Remus and I will help and Sirius can stay here and watch Harry, Ron, and Ginny."

"Dear, my hair is still green," Remus said, "and Harry still has my wand."

"I can help with your first problem," Arthur answered. "It's a simple charm. _Fateor._"

The green in Remus's hair faded back to his normal shade of brown.

"Your second problem, however, I can't help you with," Arthur added, laughing.

"Harry!" Remus called before walking up the stairs.

"I bet he doesn't get it back," I said.

"Normally, Sirius, I would take that bet, but this time I don't think I will," Diane said.

* * *

I was right; Remus did not get his wand back from Harry. Diane and he went to help Arthur find the twins nonetheless and left me to watch Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

We were sitting in the lounge playing a game of exploding snap when I realized something was wrong, but I do not mean wrong like back in October of that previous year; I mean something was off.

To begin with, the floor was getting farther and farther away from my feet and the ceiling was getting closer and closer to my head. I only had seconds to process this fact, though, and did not have time to react to the sofa ejecting me. I crash landed into the opposite wall, thankfully not breaking anything.

"What the—?" I wondered aloud before I heard two identical sets of laughter erupt from the other side of the room.

I looked, and sure enough, two identical red heads were high-fiving each other, one of which held a wand in his hand.

"You must be Fred and George," I had said more to myself than anyone else in the room.

They shook their heads.

"No? Then who are you?" I asked, slightly confused.

"He's Gred and I'm Forge," one of them answered.

"Mum says it's wrong to lie, Fred," Ginny said.

Fred, or at least I assume it was Fred, stuck his tongue out at her.

"And Mum's not here, is she?" the other twin, of who I assume was George, replied.

"No, but Dad is," Ron said.

"Ickle Ronnie's trying to scare us, George," Fred said to his twin.

"Don't call me that!" Ron had said indignantly.

"Fred, George," Arthur said warningly.

The twins froze, laughter disappearing from their faces.

"Is that my wand?" Remus asked.

George looked down to the wand in his twin's hand.

"Dunno," he replied. "We found it in his room."

He pointed to Harry.

"Told you I didn't have it, Moony," Harry had said indignantly.

"Yes, you did, Harry, and I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Remus apologized. "Now, if you would kindly hand me my wand back."

Fred reluctantly handed over Remus's wand.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Fred asked.

"Fred!" Arthur had scolded.

"I'm really Harry Potter," Harry had replied, thinking nothing of Fred's question.

The twins turned to each other and said, "Wicked!"

"I do apologize for all the trouble," Arthur said. "We'll be going now. Molly and I have to have a talk with the twins."

"You're welcome to come over anytime," Diane offered.

"We'll take you up on that offer," Arthur promised. "And then, Remus, you can explain to me the working of that car of yours. I've been wanting to get one myself and fix it up, maybe make it fly or something, but Molly says I have enough muggle junk out in the shed. Maybe one day… Well, anyway, come on, boys, Ginny, let's go."

Arthur left along with his kids, and I cautiously sat down on the edge of the sofa.

"Those twins are quite the masterminds, aren't they?" Remus said, smirking slightly at my precaution.

"I think we might have some marauders in the making," I agreed.

"Remus, Sirius, don't give Molly and Arthur a harder time then they're already going to have," Diane had said.

"As much as I love defending myself to my dearest wife, I think I'm going to go run a bath and try to get some of this slime off of me from Xeno Lovegood's garden," Remus had said before he went upstairs, leaving me to defend myself and him.

"Would we ever do that?" I had asked.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" I asked him.

Harry had smiled innocently up at me.

"Aunt Dee says Ron can come over sometime," Harry replied enthusiastically.

"And when did she say that?" I asked.

"Earlier while you and Uncle Moony was looking for Uncle Moony's wand," Harry replied simply.

* * *

I had just put Harry down to sleep when Remus came bounding through the door of my room with a towel wrapped over his head.

"Sirius Orion Black," he had said threateningly.

I looked at him innocently.

"Moony, you're kind of reminding me of my dear old mum that time I hexed old aunt Druella's walking stick to split in half whenever she needed to use it. Merlin was she mad…"

"Sirius Orion Black," Remus had repeated. "You and your stupid prank bottle of shampoo!"

He pulled the towel off of his head to reveal his bright pink hair.

"I was right," I said victoriously. "Pink hair suits you."

Remus reached for his wand.

"Now, Moony," I had said wearily, eyeing his wand.

"_Purpura_!"

Remus's spell hit me square on the forehead and for a second I thought nothing was going to happen. Then Remus started laughing and I looked at myself in the mirror: Remus's spell had made me purple from head to toe.

"Remus John Lupin!"

* * *

**AN: Sorry about the long wait. *dodges curses* School got a little hectic, and I didn't get to write near as much as I wanted to. Hopefully things get better. Thanks to all who reviewed; I apologize for not replying to them. If you review this time, I'll respond. Oh, and I do apologize up front with any American terms. You're welcome to point them out if you want.  
**

**I guess I need to dedicate this chapter to Diane L. She passed on from cancer recently and was who I named the character of Diane after. (Though they share no resemblance other than their names.)**

**I hope to have the next chapter up within the next couple of weeks. So I guess all I have to say is:**

**Please Review. =)**


	19. Chapter 19

**No I haven't disappeared off the face of the Earth, nor do I own anything you recognize from somewhere other than here.**

If anyone would have told me that 31 July 1984 would have been remembered as anything other than Harry's fourth birthday, I would have sworn up and down that person was confunded. However, having lived through that day, I now know that statement to be nothing but the truth.

As with any other day that ultimately would be remembered for some reason or another, it started out rather normally. Ron and Neville had stayed the night before as a birthday present for Harry, and I was the one in charge of cooking breakfast while Diane took care of setting everything up for Harry and Neville's combined birthday party.

I was in the kitchen, trusting Remus to wake and dress Harry, Ron, and Neville, when I realized something was glowing at the Granger's house. Being a pureblood wizard, glowing houses did not really catch my attention, and it was not until I had finished buttering the last piece toast that I realized why the glowing had caught my attention in the first place: the Grangers were not aware that their daughter was a witch.

I whipped my head back around to look out the window once again. A bluish light surrounded the family home of the Grangers, seemingly the work of accidental magic.

"Moony!" I yelled, unable to take my eyes off of the house. "Mooooooneeeeeeyyyy!"

Thunderous footsteps met my ear, presumably from the staircase, and Remus, holding a small black sock in his left hand and a small left shoe in his right hand, appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.

"What?" he had asked, slightly out of breath.

"Glowing. Grangers' house."

It is slightly comical how I am unable to form complete sentences when something mind-blowing is happening. Remus, who was all too used to my babbling, understood what I was trying to convey to him. He crossed the kitchen in four steps and leaned in close to the window to get a better view of just what was happening.

"This is potentially not good," I remember Remus muttering to himself before he turned to me.

"Well, what are we to do?" I had asked.

"You floo over to Augusta's and tell them what is going on if they haven't already noticed," Remus instructed. "I'll take Harry and Neville over to the Weasley's and I'll meet you over at Augusta's."

I barely remember flicking my wand in the direction of the cooking food to remove all the spells I had used before I ran full speed for the fireplace.

"The Longbottoms!"

Although I had grown up using the Floo Network, I had never mastered the ability to Floo quickly and manage to keep my balance. It was only when I somersaulted out of the fireplace of the Longbottoms' lounge and halfway across the room that I realized I could have simply just apparated.

"Well, good morning, Sirius," Augusta had greeted, confusion written plainly in her voice.

"Sirius?" Diane repeated my name. "Tell me my house is still standing."

"Funny you would immediately assume something about a house, Diane," I had said.

"Sirius Orion Black, if you have—" Diane began to threaten.

"Don't get your knickers in a wad, Diane," I had cut her off. "It's not our house that I came to talk about; it's the Grangers'."

"The Grangers' house?" Augusta repeated. "What about it?"

"It's glowing," I had replied.

It was at that moment in time, in the midst of relaying important news, that I realized something: all women must have the built in ability to make men feel like idiots. My dear old hag of a mum managed to make my headstrong, cold-hearted dad feel like an idiot every day of their _happily _married life. Professor McGonagall was one of the only professors at Hogwarts that managed to make James and I feel like idiots whenever we were caught (which, mind you, was less often then one might think), and there, in the lounge of the Longbottoms', Augusta and Diane both managed to make me feel like an idiot once again.

"Glowing?" Diane had repeated as though I had told her the Holyhead Harpies had decided to hire a wizard keeper.

"Yes, Diane, glowing," I had assured her, realizing I only had a couple of minutes before Remus floo'ed over, "as in accidental, underage magic glowing."

I watched as realization dawned on both of the women's faces simultaneously.

"What are we going to do?" Diane asked.

"I dunno," I replied. "Moony apparently has an idea though. He was supposed to take Harry and Neville to the Weasley's and then come here."

The fire in the fireplace turned green, a tall tale sign Remus was about to appear in it.

"Albus?" Augusta had greeted, confused.

"I thought you said Remus was supposed to be coming?" Diane asked.

"He's right behind me, dear," Professor Dumbledore said, stepping out of the fireplace.

The fire remained emerald green and seconds later, Remus appeared. He stepped out of the fireplace, dusting his trousers off.

"Minerva went directly to the Grangers'," Professor Dumbledore continued. "I suggest you three go on over also; they might be more welcoming if this news comes from friends and not strangers. Augusta, would you be a dear and accompany me to the Ministry? I need someone with your expertise to convince them to not wipe the Grangers' memories."

"Certainly, Albus," Augusta had agreed.

Professor Dumbledore outstretched his arm and nodded for Augusta to accept it.

"I trust you three will be able to smooth things over at the Grangers," he said before he and Augusta apparated from the lounge.

"Did you not at one time, Moony, consider a career in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes?" I had asked Remus, fishing for an excuse to try to lighten the atmosphere.

A trace of a smile had appeared on Remus's tense face.

"So I did," he replied. "Before, of course, I was informed that you had to perfect the _obliviator _spell, which I pretty much failed at until about three and a half years ago."

My attempt to lighten the mood had ultimately failed as I recalled the exact moment Remus was referring to.

* * *

It was early June 1981, four short months before the death of Lily and James, and Remus and I were on a mission for the Order. Our target was simple: infiltrate a known safe house of the death eaters and gain as much information as we could, while also getting out alive. It was going well, a little too well now that I look back on it.

We had managed to gain access to the main headquarters undetected. They say that the first five or so minutes of your mission will tell the ultimate outcome, but I think I disagree with that. The first twenty minutes went perfectly, without even the slightest of as a fault until I made the mistake of overlooking a very important detector probe. Four death eaters subsequently swarmed in on us, and a wand fight broke out.

Do not think for a minute that Remus and I ever lost the upper hand, because we did not. In fact, we had defeated the death eaters within about seven or eight minutes. The downfall in our mission was not that we were unsuccessful, but that we were seen.

I, myself, did not realize that we were in plain view of a muggle couple until Remus was already pulling out his wand.

"We've been spotted," Remus had said to me, revulsion on his face at what he knew was ultimately going to happen to the muggles.

He nodded towards the pavement where the two muggles, neither of which was any older than the two of us, were frozen in fear watching every move we made. The man, although petrified in a sense, had placed himself between us and the woman. He was tall with dark hair and light eyes. I do not know why I remember what they looked like in such detail, though. Maybe it was the woman who I remembered the most. It is not her long blonde hair that stands out to me the most. It was her eyes. They were big and the clearest shade of brown that the colour of brown could be. Looking into her fear-filled eyes was like looking into a crystal glass ball whose smoke had turned brown. Divination has always been a favourite subject of mine, and from my knowledge, brown smoke normally meant a sense of stability and orderliness.

I suppose I remember that woman so much because at that moment in time I did not feel a sense of stability and orderliness, and therefore it created a sort of oxymoron about the entire situation. Or maybe it is because I sensed the presence of a death eater not even twenty metres away or because I sensed that that particular death had his wand aimed directly at the back of my head.

Being on the brink of death seemed to forego any sense of stability and orderliness.

"Remus, you got to do something," I had said to him frantically.

It was an unspoken rule that we did not call each other by our nicknames.

"What do I do?"

"Wipe their memories!"

"I can't!" he had replied.

"You can!" I had disagreed.

Looking back on that moment, that particular conversation was slightly comical. There the two of us was mere seconds away from potential death, and we were arguing.

An explosion behind us seemed to have knocked some courage into Remus. He raised his wand, sorrow and regret written on his scarred face, and pointed it at the muggles.

"_Obliviate!_"

Just like that, Remus had mastered the _obliviator _spell.

* * *

I snapped out of my reverie, and the three of us apparated to the pavement in front of the Granger's house.

The house was eerie in a sense. All normal traces that had in the past welcomed all of us warmly were no where in sight. Instead a sort of magical discomfort was surrounding the place, engulfing it in its peculiar glow.

I looked sideways at Remus. Written on his face was an echo of the expression he had worn that night he had looked those muggles in the eye just before he mastered the _obliviator_ spell. It was then that I knew Remus was remembering that night with intensity.

I saw Diane link her arm in his, silently offering her comfort, and I knew that we could waste no more time standing in front of the house.

I took a step forward, every fibre of my being relaxing somewhat when Diane and Remus mirrored my movement.

The thing I remember the most about the very moment I stepped into the foyer of the Grangers house was the atmosphere. It was utterly different from what I had expected. I had anticipated shock and fear, but I was met with acceptance and… _laughter_?

My jaw dropped to the floor the instant I realized what I was seeing: Professor McGonagall, well known for her ability to keep a straight face when faced the most humourous situations, was actually _laughing_.

I stole a glance at Remus and Diane. Their faces held identical looks of surprise.

"Remus, Sirius, Diane, do come in," Jeannette said, waving us in.

"I'm assuming you two took the surprise well?" Remus had asked, elbowing me in the side in attempt to snap me out of my shock.

David and Jeannette shared a look of amusement.

"We did," David said, looking down in the floor at the subject of their conversation.

Hermione sat with a pile of blocks levitating them in the air to stack them on top of each other high above her head.

"We always knew there was something special about her," Jeannette added, looking fondly at her daughter.

Then she grimaced and looked up at us.

"That was clichéd, but—"

Remus cut her off.

"It's the truth."

She smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah."

The fireplace beside where Professor McGonagall was sitting turned green.

"Wicked," I heard David mutter.

Professor Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace with Augusta at his heels.

"Albus?" Professor McGonagall had been the first one to speak. "What's the verdict?"

Professor Dumbledore looked at all of us individually, keeping us in suspense just because he could.

It struck me at that moment that he was well-known for doing that. I remember very distinctly that very first time I had known him to do that. It was during my second year at Hogwarts, and James and I were in his office because we had been caught red handed flying without permission. Professor McGonagall had caught the two of us goofing off with the quidditch equipment and had marched us straight to Professor Dumbledore's office. We had stood with shaky knees for the better part of twenty minutes before he had said the twelve words I had dreamed of hearing every night since I was old enough to know what the brilliant sport of quidditch was:

"How would you boys like a position on the Gryffindor quidditch team?"

Well, those were not the _exact_ words I had dreamed of hearing, but they were as close as I was ever going to get.

James was given the position of chaser and I was given the position of beater, along with well-deserved punishments of scrubbing the floor of the locker rooms without magic. I would have to say it was completely worth it.

"The ministry has decided," Albus said, knocking me out of my reverie, "that no harm has been done, and so therefore there will be nothing further to do."

True relief flooded my body and I knew at that moment in time that I would remember that particular day for the rest of my life regardless of the birthday party that would take place hours later and the exploding bonbons that would somehow make their way into my piece of birthday cake.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. Things got _very_ hectic, and so therefore it's taken me this long to get this chapter up. *dodges curses and flying playdough* I apologize completely for taking as long as I did. I really hope to have the next chapter up within the next couple of weeks. I would've had this up sooner but due to all the snow days I had back in January, I did not get a spring break and had very little time to write. -.- Hopefully though things are going to slow down enough for me to write the next chapter pretty soon. **

**I also apologize for any typos or grammatical mistakes that are potentially within this chapter (that includes using the American word instead of the British one.) You can point it out to me if you want (nicely!) or you can overlook it.  
**

**As always, please review.  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**I've never tried a late-night update, but let's see how this one works... Oh, and I own nothing except the M&M's that I'm currently snacking on**

Halloween of that year came quicker than I imagined it would. August, September, and the majority of October was spent educating the Grangers' on all subjects related to magic and their daughter, and that period of time was one of the very few that I remember being almost completely careless. However, I must have spilled a load of dragon salt and neglected to throw it over my right shoulder, for as soon as I came to that realization fate decided it would throw my life of raising Harry into chaos once again.

It had been around a year since nightmares had filled my dreams. Nightmares that would wake me up in a cold sweat and have me screaming until my throat was raw.

The nightmare that plagued my dreams then was always the same. I was at Hogwarts, standing on the grounds in the midst of a battle fight. There were spells flying all around and cries of triumph and sorrow filling the air. Remus was at my left, his wand drawn as he vigorously fought off a death eater I recognized as Dolohov. I, myself, was not fighting anyone, but rather just watching in awe as Remus and Dolohov fought, as though performing an artistic piece of music.

Remus had the upper hand, and I will never forget the feeling I received when Dolohov unexpectedly made contact with his killing curse. It was like time stopped completely. Remus, with surprise and a trace of regret still etched on his face, fell to the ground, his amber eyes seeing nothing.

Rage engulfed me every time, and before Dolohov could even react to what I was doing, I sent the killing curse at him. Never, in all the time that I dreamed that same nightmare, had I actually taken the time to see if I was successful, to see if I had killed him. In the next fraction of a second, I was on my knees, bending over Remus. I frantically said every spell I could think of in a vain attempt to try to save him, but nothing would work. I screamed into the night sky, and in the corner of my eye, a streak of pink was running straight for the two of us, screaming out Remus's name.

The first couple of times the nightmare happened, Remus and Diane had ran into my room and shook me awake, trying to calm me down before I woke Harry up. The third time it happened, it was not Remus and Diane who ran in my room: it was Harry.

I felt a small hand touch my face, and I awoke with a jerk, still screaming at the top of my lungs. I looked around the room, wildly trying to get my bearings as my screaming slowly diminished. Harry was standing over me with a trace of fear in his four year old eyes.

It was not his young eyes I was seeing, however. Instead, I was looking into the fifteen year old eyes of Lily on a dreary September first.

* * *

The year was 1975, and that day marked the beginning of my fifth year. The summer holiday was for the most part unbearable, aside from the three wonderful weeks I had stayed with the Potters. My dear old hag of a mum was even more intolerable than usual that year, and my father, if he could be called that, had drunk more and more with each passing day. Reggie (a name that I had for so long thought with anger) was starting to get looked at for recruitment for Voldemort, and our siblinghood, which had withstood everything and anything strongly until that summer, diminished with every drink my father took.

My mind still blocks out a lot of those memories. All I really remember for sure of that time is my unhappiness and my dear old hag of a mum's dream of the perfect pureblood family being snapped quickly away.

That morning, however, I remember with precision as though it was a scene I was forbid to forget.

It is cliché to say, but that morning had started out just like any other had that summer. I woke up to my mum screaming at the top of her lungs about something, more than likely something that had to do with me but I had long since learned to tune her out. I thought nothing of anything until I went downstairs to the kitchen to grab a piece of toast to hold me over until the food trolley came by on the Hogwarts Express a few hours later. When I walked through the door, I could immediately tell something was wrong. That stupid elf was nowhere in sight and my father was sitting at the table with a bottle of fire whiskey three-fourths drunk. There was something about the way he sat that morning that had me frozen in the doorway of the kitchen.

I do not remember much after that, and the parts I do remember I wish that I did not.

I do remember the look in Lily's eyes that morning when I arrived at the station though. I purposefully made sure I was no where near my family as soon as I could get away from them, and, because I was concentrating on that, I ran right into her.

"Black, are you alright?" she had asked me, her voice full of concern, even though she mostly hated my guts.

I have previously stated that all women must have the built in ability to make men feel like idiots, but I would like to add to that. I also think all women must have the built in ability to know exactly when something is just not right, and, at that moment in time, that was very evident from Lily.

I was stupid, though, and cocky.

"Everything's fine."

Of course back then I did not know that Lily pretty much knew exactly what was going on or that a year from that moment I would no longer have to worry about that morning's problems…

* * *

Lily had most certainly passed that trait onto her son, and I saw it prominently that particular morning. His expression was a mix between concern and fear, in the only way the four-year-old son of Lily Evans Potter could have.

"Padfoot, are you alright?" Harry had asked, not aware that he was mimicking the exact words his mother had asked me almost ten years prior.

I pulled him into my arms and held him tightly, trying to shake off the remnants of my dream and my memory.

"I am now, Harry," I had replied into his thick head of unruly jet-black hair. "It was just a bad dream. Just a bad dream."

The two of us stayed like that well into daylight, and every moment that passed made me more thankful that he was there, a living proof that his wonderful mother and my best friend had indeed lived.

Remus came into my room around lunchtime that afternoon and did not seem visibly surprised that Harry and I were still lying on my bed as we had been.

"They're going to eat it all up if you two don't hurry up and get down there," he had said.

"They?" I had repeated.

Remus nodded.

"Augusta and Neville came about an hour ago. Augusta came over early to help Diane cook for tonight's dinner in honor that horrible event of three years ago."

My breath caught as memories of that day hit me like a bludger I had failed to deflect.

"The Grangers and Weasleys are coming joining us this year," Remus had added quietly, before stepping out of my room.

I looked down at Harry.

"It's time to get you dressed so you and Neville can eat and play," I had said to him, trying my hardest to keep any pain from my voice.

"Neville?" Harry had repeated excitedly.

"Yes, Neville," I had replied. "We're all having a get together tonight."

Although there was visible excitement on Harry's face, I saw a faint trace of sadness, and I was aware that he knew exactly what today was.

* * *

The Grangers and Weasleys came over for dinner that night, and afterwards we all gathered in the lounge to swap stories and memories of the fallen. (We had also invited Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, but it was a Thursday, and they could not get away from Hogwarts.) It was one of the few times that the children actually sat in the lounge with us as we talked. They were all fascinated, and saddened, by our stories.

I held Harry on my lap, sitting in the armchair opposite of the sofa, as Remus and Diane both sat in the other armchair (magically enlarged to accommodate that of course) with the twins. Augusta sat on the sofa holding Neville with Molly as she held Ron and Arthur as he held Ginny. The Grangers sat on an armchair that Remus had magically manifested. (Diane did not fail to bring up the story of the time Harry had gotten a hold of my wand and charmed the cushions to attack everyone.)

Although the night had started with the lighthearted story, that tone did not last long.

"I was away on a mission for the Order when I got the news that Lily and James were murdered," Diane began to retell her version of that fateful Halloween. "Edgar Bones and Marlene McKinnon and I were up north trying to infiltrate one of their sleeper cells when we received Dumbledore's patronus. I remember that it was stormy where we were, the perfect setting for such horrible news. I rushed off as soon as I got the message, not aware that that would also be the last time I saw either Edgar or Marlene. The first news I got was that Sirius had betrayed Lily and James, and I could have honestly murdered him with my bare hands when I heard it. I ran into the headquarters, and had it not been for Dumbledore's assurance that Sirius was not the betrayer, I _would_ have killed him with my bare hands."

She paused and looked around the room.

"The moment I finally realized Sirius was innocent and Peter was guilty, I almost wished there was something worse than Azkaban to contain him."

The room was solemn. I do not think there was a soul that did not agree fully with her statement, regardless of their understanding of the situation.

"I remember that day like it was yesterday," Molly said when it was clear that Diane was finished with her story. "I had promised my brothers that I would keep close to the southern headquarters that day. Those two always seemed to know when something was going to happen. Ginny was just a few weeks old and had not yet slept through the night. I was exhausted and was napping when Arthur ran into the room. I immediately knew something had happened. Arthur had left on a mission a couple days before and I was not expecting him back for at least another three or four days. All he said to me was, "You-Know-Who is gone." I found it peculiar that he was not smiling when he relayed the news, and I wasted no time telling him so. I'll never forget his expression when he told me James and Lily were murdered at You-Know-Who's hands and that Harry, little baby Harry, had survived the curse that brought the greatest of any wizards down."

Molly finished her story as Arthur reached for her hand.

"I don't think there's a person alive, wizard or no wizard, who knew James and Lily that wasn't affected by their deaths," Augusta said gravely.

None of us in that room could disagree with her.

"What many of us don't remember about that day is that it was beautiful," she said.

I would have to admit that I am one of those people who do not remember 31 October 1981 as anything other than dark and dreary.

"The leaves were changing, but there was still enough on the trees to make a perfect autumn scene, and the sun shined so bright it sent rays from the heavens. I saw them that day; I went with Frank and Alice to take Neville over to visit."

I remember, with regret, that I was also supposed to be at the Potters' that day, but I was too busy trying to sell my plan to Voldemort that I elected to skip the visit. I was not aware that I would never see my best friends alive again.

"Lily was very lively that day and optimistic," Augusta went on. "She was so excited that Harry was walking and talking and riding that toy broom of his all over the house she could barely stand it. James was beside himself, too. I think they were just starved for outside contact, for reassurance that Voldemort's reign was ending, and because they had exceptional news to tell: Lily was pregnant."

It felt as though ice cold water had been poured over my heart as Augusta reminded me of that very fact I had long since forgotten. Lily and James were ecstatic when they found out, and she was about four months along when she was murdered. James was certain it would be a girl, and he made sure he said so every time the topic was brought up.

"I hadn't been by to see them for a couple months and neither had Frank and Alice, so we were a little behind on the news," Augusta continued. "Anyways, they were the happiest I've ever known anyone to be. When I left that afternoon, I would have never thought that things could and would get so horrible."

She paused, seeming to gather her thoughts.

"I was at the western headquarters getting supplies for Mad-Eye's next mission when I heard the news. Alice walks in crying her eyes out and cursing at everything she saw. It took me fifteen minutes to get her calm enough to tell me the Potters were gone. Sirius is lucky Dumbledore sent him to the northern headquarters that night."

I remember grimacing as Augusta finished her recount of that night. Never had I wished more than to have done things differently. Maybe if I had, we would not have been in the lounge of our house retelling the night Lily and James died.

I would swear on my old hag of a mum that James and Lily were with us in our lounge that Halloween. I could almost hear James laughing at the death threats that were insinuated towards me, and I could almost see Lily shaking her head and smiling at James's amusement.

* * *

**A/N: Things got hectic again. -.- Graduation is tomorrow-uh, tonight though so things should slow down (hopefully) until school starts in August and I'll be a senior. I do apologize about the late update. I had most of this typed a couple weeks ago and then final exams hit and I had to create a rose bush for English. (Ever tried to paint a fake white rose black?) Anyway, I apologize for the spelling and grammatical mistakes. I know there are some but it's really late and I really want this chapter up. **

**Oh, and please review.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I've never updated two stories on the same day, but I promised to have this up by the middle of the week... and guess what. It's the middle of the week. So enjoy, but remember, I own nothing you recognize.**

Everyone has those moments in his or her lives where tragedy strikes. It could be a fire that destroys his or her home, the loss of a job, or the loss of a loved one. Most of the time it happens when the person expects it the least, and sometimes it happens in ways that person would never expect it to.

On the morning of 27 January 1985, Diane, once again, shook up our lives in raising Harry. The sun was shining brightly into the kitchen that morning as Diane, Remus, Harry, and I were eating breakfast.

"Albus owled me this morning," Diane had said. "He has offered me a position at Hogwarts."

"A teaching position?" Remus had asked. "Isn't it a little too late in the school year?"

"Not a teaching position," Diane had replied. "It's more like a full time potions master, like what Snape does, only minus the teaching."

"Would you have to live there?" I asked.

Diane shook her head.

"The times are really similar to my old work times. I'll be coming and going as I please."

"Why does Hogwarts need a second potions master?" I asked.

The only time I ever remember Hogwarts having a second potions master was during the first war, when Voldemort was at the height of his reign. It was necessary then to brew the amount of potions we needed. If Hogwarts was hiring a second potions master then that would mean…

"Does Albus think Voldemort is gaining power again?" Remus had asked.

None of the three of us actually believed Harry killed Voldemort that Halloween night in Godric Hollow. If Harry completely killed him, then Dumbledore would not have such a close eye on Harry.

Diane shrugged in response.

"He just said he felt that terminating the second position of potions master was a mistake."

Remus inclined his head in agreement.

"Albus's right, as usual. We need to be thinking about Voldemort's return to power now so that when it happens—and no, that is not an if, because everyone in here knows he's not truly gone—we will be ready. Last time we were caught mostly off guard and struggling to get what we got. I don't think we will be able to overpower him if we do it the same way we did."

I sighed. Leave it to Remus to turn a cheerful morning into a dark and depressing one by smacking us with reality harder than a beater's bat hits a bludger.

"So when do you start?" I asked before Remus could make things even drearier.

"The day after tomorrow," Diane replied.

A knock at the door interrupted any further questioning of Diane's new job.

"I'll get it," I had said, getting up from the table before either of them could respond.

I opened that door that morning not knowing that the person on the other side held information that I never dreamed I would even minisculy mourn.

He was a short man with a balding head of dark hair and an aristocratic nose, the two prominent signs of a pureblood of my dear old hags of parents' society.

"Sirius Black, I would know your face anywhere," the man greeted me as though he was greeting an old friend.

"And yet I don't know yours," I had replied.

Anyone who was in my parents' society was not someone I respected enough to treat civilly.

"I beg your pardon," the man had said, completely ignoring the scorn in my voice. "I am Harfang Longbottom, and I am here to deliver horrible news."

I waited patiently, not at all phased at the mentioning that this bloke was also part of the Black family.

"Your dear mother passed away early this morning."

I shut the door, leaned against it, and sunk to the floor.

There it was: the words I had been waiting to hear for the past twenty-five-odd years. My dear old hag of a mum was gone, and I was not at all saddened. She had made my life a living hell (excuse my language) but now she no longer could.

I sat there for a long while until I saw Harry standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Padfoot?"

I looked up at him, refusing to acknowledge the water in my eyes.

"Why you crying?"

"I'm not crying, Harry. Crying would mean that I am sad, but I am not."

Harry walked closer to me.

"Uncle Moony says lying isn't good."

I laughed, cringing internally at the fakeness of it.

"I know, Harry, I know."

"Then why did you say you weren't crying?"

I stared at him for a few minutes.

"Because sometimes Harry, things become too much for even adults," Remus had answered gently for me, "but they don't want anyone to know they can't handle it."

Then Harry said those nine words that made my entire world so much better.

"Padfoot, you don't got to handle things by yourself."

He was not aware that he was speaking the same words that I had spoken to his father almost five years prior.

* * *

It was mid-July 1980, just a couple weeks before Harry was born, and James and I were over at the Potters' waiting on Lily and Remus to get back from St. Mungos. We had had a long night staking out one of Voldemort's followers' gathering places. Remus had volunteered to take Lily to St. Mungos for a check up while James and I got some sleep.

"I can't do this, Padfoot," James had freaked out while we were sitting in the lounge waiting on the two of them to return back.

"Can't do what?" I had repeated obliviously, although I had a feeling I knew what he was referring to.

"This," he motioned around him. "I thought I was ready, but now I'm not so sure. What if I mess up?"

He ran his hand through his already messed up hair, a habit he had not yet broken.

"You'll do fine, Prongs. No! You'll do better than fine—you'll do great!" I had assured him.

"That's easy for _you_ to say, Padfoot," he had doubted me. "I'm not so sure. What if—What if I don't know what to do?"

"You'll know—" I had started to counter his statement when he cut me off.

"I mean this is a little life that will be in my hands! Someone I will be solely responsible for, and I don't have a clue what to do! I could mess up! I could—I could make him hate quidditch!"

Although the conversation was serious and James was in the midst of a mental breakdown, I could not hold back laughter at his last statement. It was just like James to worry his son would not like the sport of quidditch.

"Padfoot! This is serious!" James had whined.

I took deep breaths to contain my laughter.

"Yeah, I know, Prongs, but I don't think you have to worry about your son not liking quidditch."

James had smiled sheepishly.

"Besides, you, of all people, will not mess your child up," I assured him, most of the laughter having left my voice. "Do you remember your first game as the quidditch captain?"

It was against Ravenclaw during our sixth year. They had the best team of all of four of the schoolhouses, and we had little chance of winning. James sat us down in the locker room and gave us the shortest, and most encouraging, pep talk any of us had ever received.

"I know they're good, but our job today is to show them—and the entire school—that Gryffindor is better. So let's get out there and do just that!"

Later, James would tell me he had prepared an entire fifteen minute talk, but when he started to give it, he forgot every bit of it.

"Yeah, I remember it," James had replied.

"You knew we had no chance to win; everyone knew that. Regardless of that, you made us think we could win, and we went out there on that pitch and played our game," I recounted unnecessarily, "and we did in fact win."

"But what does that have to do with this?" he had asked, obviously confused at my point.

"Everything. You can do this, Prongs, and that kid will be the luckiest kid in the world to have you as a father. Of course, there's one other thing that'll help."

James looked up at me, meeting my eyes curiously.

"And that is?"

"You don't got to handle things by yourself, Prongs."

I will never forget the look James gave me after I assured him of that, and that was the last time he had a melt down about becoming a father. Two weeks later when Harry finally arrived, James had that look of determination in his eyes that clearly said: _I can do this!_

* * *

Little did I know that in a little under five years, I would hear those same words used on myself.

"Thank you, Harry; I don't think I _could_ handle things by myself," I had said to him.

"Who was that at the door, Sirius?" Diane had asked.

I hesitated.

"Padfoot?" Remus prodded.

"Some Longbottom bloke," I replied.

"Any relation to Augusta?" Diane asked cautiously, sensing the tone of my reply.

I nodded.

"All pureblood families are interrelated," I replied. "He's, er, Augusta's first cousin."

"What did he want with you?" Remus asked.

I looked up at him and sighed, knowing that I eventually needed to tell the three of them. They were my family, and, more than that, they deserved to know.

"He's in the same society my parents insisted on being in," I explained. "He, er, came to tell me my dear old mum had finally kicked the bucket."

I saw Remus and Diane exchange looks.

"How are you, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

He could have probably guessed what my actual answer was, but Remus was not a person to assume things.

I sighed and thought through my answer.

"I'm…okay."

Remus and Diane both raised their eyebrows in doubt, prompting me to give them a better answer.

"I mean she was my mum and I should feel something but…" I trailed off, my eyes dropping down to the floor.

"But?" Remus repeated.

I glanced up at him, annoyed.

"_But _I feel nothing."

"And that's alright," Remus reassured me. "She disowned you, Padfoot, and you shouldn't feel guilty because you feel nothing about her passing."

I shrugged in either agreement or disagreement. It did not matter which, and I let them assume whichever it was.

"Besides, Padfoot," Remus continued. "Turn it around. How would she feel if you passed away?"

Remus had a point, something he knew I knew immediately. If it was the other way around, she would probably be throwing a celebration party with her high society friends and that _house elf_.

"You're right, Moony," I agreed and then added, "as always."

Remus chuckled a couple of times.

"What do you say the four of us go to Diagon Alley and celebrate Diane's new employment?" he suggested.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea," I agreed, before hoisting myself up.

"And then if you want to talk more about it, you can, Padfoot," Remus had said under his voice to me.

I smiled and nodded, aware that I was wearing an expression similar to the one James had worn all those years ago.

* * *

**A/N: It's short, but I think that by adding anything else to this chapter would take away from it. Plus, this was a relatively quick update. Thanks for reading.**

**Please review.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter twenty-two and I still own nothing... *sigh* that's depressing. Oh, and I apologize about the double-posting. I discovered a major grammatical error that had to be fixed.**

For a household that was ruled by the moon, we had never had any serious (no personal pun intended) problems with it. We had done the same thing for the better part of four years, and it seemed efficient. Remus would go into the cellar beside of the house just before sunset, and I would follow him, in my Animagus form, when I was certain he had finished his transformation. Diane would take Harry and stay the night at someone's house, most of the time Augusta's.

This routine had not failed us for the better part of four years.

I woke the morning of 8 March 1985 in pain and confusion. However, those were not the first clues that tipped me off there was something wrong. Dead wrong. I was seeing in black and white, and my thoughts were simpler. It took me only a few seconds to realize that I had failed to transform back into my human form, and another couple of seconds to realize someone was applying salve on my back.

I yelped and jumped up, growling. Even in black and white I could clearly recognize Molly Weasley.

"Oh, hold still, you mutt!" she had said, completely convinced she was doctoring a hurt animal.

I snapped at her, hating to do so, and she let go immediately.

"Arthur!" Molly had screamed.

Before I had time to get successfully away, Arthur had tackled me to the ground. Pain shot up and down my side and I smelled blood—my own blood mixed with a wilder, less domesticated blood: the blood of a werewolf. My stomach turned upside down, and had I been human, I would have fallen to all fours. Since I was already in my Animagus form, however, I did not need to do that.

Somewhere between Arthur tackling me and realizing that I smelled werewolf _blood_, I stopped struggling. That gave Arthur the chance to carry me back to the table Molly had had me on. I was a full-grown grim-like dog, and carrying me was no easy feat, but Arthur managed it without so much of a grimace.

"What happened to him, do you think?" Arthur had asked his wife.

She began applying the salve again.

"Got in a fight with another animal I suppose," she replied.

I felt a second pair of hands roaming the back of my coat. I will never, as long as I live in either my human form _or_ my Animagus form, forget the way Arthur had froze and said the next few words to his wife.

"Molly, dear… how was the moon last night?"

Even in my Animagus's simpler mind, I comprehended the tone of terror in Arthur's voice. The mere mention of werewolves, especially in pureblood families, put everyone on edge. I could tell Arthur and Molly were expecting a cold blooded, slightly insane, half-human like Fenrir Greyback, not a loving, smart human with a curse like Remus.

"It was full. Why?" Molly had replied, not entirely catching onto Arthur's thinking.

Arthur had looked at Molly in response, wearing an expression on his face I had seen many times in association of Remus, and she finally understood what he was referring to.

"Oh, my dear Merlin!" Molly had exclaimed slowly, the same terror in her voice. "What do we do?"

Arthur's expression was grim.

"Gather the children and send them to Aunt Muriel's," he replied. "I'll go to Augusta's and Sirius's: they have a right to know there is a werewolf on the lose."

My insides turned to ice at Arthur's words. If he went to the house, he would see Remus in his post-moon state and Remus would be discovered. Not even Dumbledore's word would help Remus since he lives with a minor and is potentially endangering nine other minors.

Arthur apparated before I could make any movement to stop him, and Molly returned her attention to me.

"Now, you just run along to whatever home you came from," she said as though talking to a toddler.

I wasted no time in heeding her words, jumping off the table and running as fast as I could towards the house. When it came into view, I stopped abruptly at the sight I was met with.

The once homey-looking two story white house was in shambles. The door to the cellar had been kicked open and there was a trail of wood from the cellar to the house. The door to the house was just as bad off as the cellar was, and from what I could see of the foyer, it had not faired much better.

My icy insides refroze as I searched my mind for last night's memory.

* * *

It was just before sunset, and the four of us were sitting in the lounge. Diane and Remus were hogging the sofa, stretched out and displaying a rare moment of open affection. Harry was sitting in the floor playing with his miniature model quidditch pitch, and I was sitting in an armchair drawing in my sketching book.

"Mm, I should go," Remus had said rather reluctantly.

Diane kissed his cheek again.

"You should," she agreed, her voice mimicking his tone.

He returned her kiss.

"The moon's going to rise soon," he said.

They both knew logically that Remus needed to leave for the cellar, but neither cared. It was the draw of love and companionship that kept them sitting on the lounge, not that I blamed them. I continued with my sketch and Harry continued playing his quidditch game, both of us ignoring the conversation exchange between Remus and Diane.

Nightfall was becoming more prominent when Remus finally extracted himself from Diane and made his way to the cellar.

"What are you and Harry going to do tonight?" I had asked Diane while waiting for Remus to transform.

"I'll take him to my mother's in a little while; she is still at work currently," she replied. "Then we'll be back in later in the morning so you and Remus will have to fend for yourselves for breakfast."

I laughed.

"Diane, you do realize what happens when we fend for ourselves, correct?"

She grimaced.

"Just remember to cast the anti-fire and anti-splatter spells beforehand and you will be fine," she had replied, her tone almost disagreeing with her actual words.

"And steer clear of your potion?" I had asked.

She nodded.

"Speaking of which, what kind of potion are you working so hard on for Dumbledore?"

"Er," she hesitated, but I could tell she wanted to tell me. "I'm not supposed to tell Remus, you know, in case it doesn't work, but it's a potion that should help him keep his human mind during his transformation."

I felt my jaw drop in amazement. A potion like this would be remarkable. Amazing. A potion like this would make our full moon routine basically unnecessary. I understood why she was not supposed to tell Remus; if he knew this and it did not work, he would be devastated.

My mind flashed back to the end of our second year at Hogwarts when James, Pettigrew, and I first told Remus about studying to become Animagi. He was hopeful, nearly completely and faithfully hopeful, but there was a shadow upon his hope. All throughout the process, he never allowed himself to be one hundred percent hopeful until a cold morning before the second full moon of our fifth year when I had successfully transformed into a giant black dog. That afternoon James transformed into a stag, and Pettigrew managed to transform into a rat. All shadow of doubt on Remus's face disappeared, and for the first time in five years, Remus looked alive before a full moon.

"That would be… fifty times better than our turning into Animagi!"

Diane smiled, nodding in agreement.

"It would be, Sirius, but don't think that becoming an Animagi was not a good solution for the time."

Diane once again proved the fact that she was a woman. She read right into my previous statement and shot down my insecurities before they could be fully known.

"Thanks, Diane, but becoming an Animagus did have its perks: who else can say they can do this at will?" I had asked flamboyantly before transforming into Padfoot.

Diane laughed, and Harry, distracted for the first time from his quidditch game, attacked me. When I thought that my ribs were going to give in from laughing as Padfoot, I transformed back into my human form and began to tickle Harry. He laughed in his high-pitched toddler laugh and tried to get away.

A howl that sounded a little too unobstructed caused me to freeze in the midst of tickling Harry. My eyes snapped to Diane's, and I saw a mirrored reflection of fear.

"Take Harry and run!" I instructed her, my voice dangerously low.

"What are you going to do?" Diane asked, accepting Harry as I pushed him into her arms.

"Try to hold him off. Merlin! I can't let Moony do anything he's going to regret!"

Another howl broke through the night, sounding even closer than the first.

"Floo to Hogwarts and find Dumbledore," I continued. "I'll try to keep Remus cornered until Dumbledore can get here."

I pushed Diane towards the fireplace and grabbed the floo powder for her to grab. She threw it into the fireplace and climbed in with Harry in her arms.

"Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts!" she spoke clearly although I could see the look of pure terror on her face. "Be careful, Sirius. I want both of you back."

Then she was gone, and a howl echoed through the house. I turned around and looked face-to-face for the first time in my human form at the werewolf that Remus became every month.

He was tall and dark haired, that much my limited colored eyesight as Padfoot had not been wrong about. His eyes, however, were not the light gray Padfoot saw, but the same amber color his human eyes were.

A growl vibrated through the house as Moony stared me down, and I realized that I was a few seconds from either death or lycanthropy. Moony changed and I reached for my wand, blasting him backwards.

"Sorry, Moony, but I'm sure you've had worse," I said to him as he struggled to get back up.

I muttered another spell to make the floor slippery and took my chance to transform into Padfoot. The spell wore off much sooner than I had anticipated and Moony charged again, still associating me as a human. Knowing I was just as strong and fast as Moony, I opted to charge towards him.

Pain, blood, and fighting followed, but I remember nothing more.

* * *

"Merlin's beard!" I heard Arthur exclaim, jolting me out of my reverie. "Sirius? Remus? Diane? Harry?"

Arthur and Augusta were standing in front of the front door looking into the house. I began running again, faster than I had ever ran before in my life—as a human or as a dog.

"Arthur," Augusta had said in a voice full of terror.

She pointed inside of the house, and Arthur looked to where she was pointing.

"Is that—?" Augusta's voice died on her lips.

I was close enough by then to see what they were talking about, and I almost tripped over my front paws. Remus was lying just inside of the lounge bloody and obviously in his post moon state.

"Yes," Arthur said, his voice sounding foreign to me.

"Does that mean—?" Augusta began.

"That Remus is a werewolf? Yes," Arthur said, sounding older and less friendly than I had ever heard him.

"What are we to do?" Augusta asked.

She at least still sounded friendly.

"There's only one thing we _can _do," Arthur had replied, his face in a grimace.

"_Arthur_! You can't be suggesting that! This is Remus we're talking about!" Augusta scolded him.

"That beside of the fact, Augusta! He is living with a minor—Harry Potter nonetheless! He should know better!"

"So? Arthur, put yourself in his shoes," Augusta ordered him. "Could you stay away from your family? From your wife? From your boys? From your baby girl?"

Arthur shot Augusta a look of annoyance.

"He is a _werewolf_," Arthur spat, more out of fear than scorn I noted.

"With a family!" Augusta insisted. "You've seen him with Harry. He's brilliant with him, teaching him everything he knows and giving him the life Harry's own father never got the chance to give him. Diane—you saw him when she got that curse! He was beside himself with worry, a shadow of the man he was as he fretted over her! Give me one example, Arthur, of a better man than Remus Lupin!"

Arthur looked at her flustered.

"Augusta, think of Neville! He has been alone with Neville, doesn't that bother you?"

She was not hearing him though.

"I've known him since the beginnings of the Order, and Frank knew him before that. Never have I heard a bad word about him."

"Maybe that's what makes him such a good werewolf!" Arthur argued. "He's so good people don't suspect anything until it's too late."

"That's dragon dung and you know it, Arthur Weasley!"

"Regardless, Augusta, I am not going to put my children in that kind of danger," Arthur said, pulling out his wand.

It was then that I knew I had to do something, even if it meant outing myself as an illegal Animagus. I ran and put myself in between Arthur and Remus, transforming back into my human form.

"Arthur, stop," I said, wishing I had thought to pull out my wand before I confronted him.

Confusion and betrayal crossed Arthur's face.

"Step aside, Sirius."

I planted my feet firmly on the ground, making sure I was in between Remus and Arthur's wand.

"No."

"I won't hesitate to take you down also, Sirius, so think long and hard about what you're doing," Arthur warned me.

"I don't have to think, Arthur," I told him defiantly. "This is my best friend you're threatening to turn in just because he was bitten by a werewolf when he was a child. He has a life against all odds, and I'm not going to step aside and let you take it all away from him! I've already lost three best friends, don't make me lose a fourth, and Harry—he's already lost one father, don't make him lost another!"

Arthur's wand lowered slightly as he fought internally against what he had always believed and the point I was making.

Remus groaned behind me.

"You've known he was a w-werewolf?" Arthur asked, trying to keep the contempt out of his voice.

I nodded.

"Since second year."

Arthur let my words sink in.

"That's why Diane and Harry stay over a lot?" Augusta asked.

I nodded.

"We figure it's better to get them out of the house on full moon nights. I mean, I can contain him pretty good and keep him mostly sane, but there's always the possibility that something like… last night will happen."

"You're an Animagus?" Augusta asked.

I nodded.

"You remember me telling you Pettigrew almost got away? Well he is an illegal Animagus. James, him, and I became Animagi to help Remus with his transformation," I explained quickly. "We were in our fifth year when we finally achieved it, but we couldn't register because we were underage."

"What could you become?" Augusta asked.

"James became a stag, and Pettigrew was a rat, kind've fitting, isn't it?" I laughed cynically.

"And you're the giant black dog Molly was patching up?" Arthur asked.

I nodded.

"The wounds—those were from trying to contain Remus?"

I hesitated, but nodded again.

"Last night was bad for some reason," I said.

"Why?" Augusta asked.

"I believe Mr. Lupin would like to know the answer to that question also," Professor Dumbledore said from behind me. "I've sent him to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey is tending to his wounds."

"Albus, you knew?" Arthur asked. "You knew Remus was a werewolf?"

"What does Albus _not _know?" Augusta asked him.

Arthur ignored her.

"Of course I knew, Arthur," Professor Dumbledore replied. "After all, I had the Whomping Willow planted on the grounds so that Remus could attend Hogwarts."

"Why was last night's moon worse than usual?" I asked, changing the subject to something more important.

Professor Dumbledore hesitated.

"I'm not sure, Sirius," he answered honestly. "I sent Diane to the Ministry to see if there was any importance of last night's moon. If it was, maybe our answer is there. If it wasn't, our answer is more than likely something here."

"What can we do?" Arthur asked.

"The first thing you need to do is accept Remus, not as a dark beast that our society has regrettably made him out to be, but as the same man you knew twenty-four hours ago that taught your youngest son and daughter the game of Exploding Snap and let them win every game."

Arthur hesitated.

"I still believe Remus is still the same man he was that day I met him in Diagon Alley," Augusta said firmly. "No amount of _ridiculous _prejudices is going to convince me otherwise."

She sent Arthur a pointed look.

"Arthur?" Professor Dumbledore prodded.

"I apologize for what I said earlier," Arthur said. "I was just—"

"Looking out for your family," I cut him off. "I don't blame you, Arthur; I would've done the same thing if I were you."

"Then what do we do, Albus?" Augusta asked.

"We need to find out why this happened. Arthur, I need you to poke around the Ministry, the places Diane can't, and get any information you can. Augusta, do you still have those contacts you had a few years ago?"

"They're called friends, Albus, and I do," Augusta replied in a tone of voice that mimicked Professor McGonagall's. "I'll find out what they know about this."

Professor Dumbledore nodded in approval.

"What about the house?" I asked. "The Grangers live just down the road, and they've got family coming in soon. We can't risk exposing magic, especially after last night."

Professor Dumbledore waved his wand before I even finished talking. Everything went back to the way it was the night before.

"Sirius, I need your version of what happened," he said.

"What about Harry?" I had asked. "I need him to be safe, and as long as we don't know why last night was particularly bad, I'd rather him not stay here…"

"He can stay at my house," Arthur offered. "Molly and I would love to watch him, and it would be a way to make up for the way I reacted."

"Thank you, Arthur."

"Sirius? Your story?" Professor Dumbledore prodded.

I took a deep breath and began to retell my story.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the slight tardiness of this update. I hit writer's block that I'm not sure is completely gone. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them, and if I use your suggestion I'll give you credit. I also apologize for any grammatical mistakes as always. Oh, and if you are interested in the Marauder's time at Hogwarts, I've written a one-shot (it's about 6500 words) about their sorting called "The Marauders: The Beginning". Check it out and review that if you don't mind.**

**Anyways, thank you for reading, and please review.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I so deserve cookies for this chapter-it's the longest yet. However, I still own nothing... Unless you count the storyline, and then I own only most of that. Enjoy. =]**

Professor Dumbledore waited patiently—not even interrupting me once—while I retold what I could remember. I told him everything from when Diane had almost kept Remus a little too long in her loving embrace to the moment I was face-to-face to a full grown werewolf in my human form. I paused to catch a breath and continued to tell him how I had woken, as Padfoot, to Molly doctoring me and following Arthur and Molly to the house, finding it in ruins with Remus's battered body in plain sight.

Once it was apparent that I was completely finished with my recollection, Professor Dumbledore asked the one question I wished beyond anything I knew.

"What happened from the time you transformed into your animagus to the moment you woke up to Molly doctoring you?"

I just stared at him, dumbfounded and searching my brain frantically. I came up with nothing, no answer for the question that was on both his and my mind. I did, however, ask myself another question: why don't I remember it? Instead of pondering over it, though, I asked Professor Dumbledore.

He was silent for a few minutes, and I thought that maybe he had not even heard my question at all. Just when I was about to ask him again, though, he finally answered.

"Perhaps for two reasons, Sirius. The first reason, I'm sure, is obvious."

I lowered my eyebrows in confusion, waiting for him to continue. He did not continue. He was an educator from the heart, and he expected me to come to the first reason on my own.

I sighed in agitation and once again searched my already aching brain. Minutes passed by, much like they had when Professor Dumbledore himself was thinking about it, and the answer finally came to my mind.

"The memory was too painful. Whatever happened last night was too much for my brain to comprehend—too much for it to hold onto and therefore it went into protection mode. It chose to eliminate it or at least put it as far away as it could."

The ever present twinkle in his eyes told me that my assumption was exactly right, and I wished I knew the second reason. I sadly did not. A silence fell between us again and I wondered, not for the first time in my life, just what was going through his complex mind.

"Albus?" I had asked tentatively. "The second reason?"

His wise blue eyes met mine once again, but this time his ever present twinkle was not so ever present: it was gone. Because of this, I felt my stomach drop.

"Unless I'm greatly mistaken, there was no significance of last night's moon. I sent Diane to the ministry and I am having Augusta get in contact with some of her friends just to make sure because it would be a grave mistake if I was wrong."

Every word Professor Dumbledore spoke just reminded me of how bad things had been during Voldemort's rule and how bad they would be again when—not _if_—he returned. He had that tone of voice notorious for being associated with Voldemort and the next words he said just backed up his tone.

"You must understand, Sirius. Four years ago when I handed Harry over to the three of you, I had some reservations. I spent a lot of time contemplating on rather or not I was making the right decision. There was an alternative that I could have chosen—one that may have very well been the better choice."

He paused again. This time he waved his hand around the grounds.

"We set these wards based on blood, the strongest defense we could possibly use against Voldemort and his followers. The other choice I could have made also dealt with a blood ward, and it was much stronger. Lily has an older sister, as you may or may not know, but she is a muggle. However, the blood that saved Harry runs through her sister's veins. Lily's blood. Those wards, I knew, would be enough to sustain against anything Voldemort or his followers tried to do and would keep Harry safe.

"I almost chose that, too, but then I happened to think about James's bond to you and Remus. He thought of you two—especially you—as his own blood brothers. He, after all, sacrificed himself for his family. He fought with Voldemort single handedly to give Lily a chance to run with Harry so why shouldn't his blood be just as strong?

"After a lot of thought, I finally decided to hand Harry to you and Remus. If anyone in the world could keep him safe, true blood wards or not, it would be James Potter's best friends. My only concern was Remus's unintentional tie to the dark arts. I told myself that it was a long shot, and so I never brought it to any of yours attention. Alas, my worst fears have been confirmed: someone, most likely one of Voldemort's most faithful followers, can indeed roughly control the werewolf inside of Remus."

I am sure my face reached a new level of pale at Professor Dumbledore's last words. If someone could control Remus as Moony, then who is to say they could not eventually control him as Remus? Apparently my face gave away my thoughts.

"I do not think anyone will be able to control Remus in human form any time in the near future," Professor Dumbledore said. "He is too strong."

"In the near future?" I repeated.

"Ah, you caught that, did you?" he asked, the twinkle partially back in his eyes. "If something catastrophic were to happen, it is very possible he could be giving a window of opportunity for someone to sweep in and control him."

"Well, what can we do?" I demanded frantically.

His answer, however, did not satisfy me.

"Nothing."

And just when I was about to rebuke his reply, he cut me off.

"Except keep him strong. His strength will come from your, Harry, and Diane's love and support."

Not for the first time (and sadly not for the last), I felt absolutely helpless. I could do nothing but support Remus and try my hardest to keep Harry alive and well. How much support would Remus need, though? Would even the slightest moment of doubt open enough of a window for someone to control him, werewolf or human? Was our support even enough?

I allowed myself that one precious moment of self-pity before I forced myself to pull everything together. I would try, give my best, and hope beyond all hopes that it was enough. Enough to keep Remus strong. Enough to keep Harry alive. It was not just about me anymore, much like it had not been for the past four odd years. I now had to think of Harry's well being _and_ Remus's strength. I, and I alone, had to step up and give it my all. It was the least that I could do for Lily and James, especially if he thought that much of me for blood wards to work for Harry in my care.

"There must be something I can do, Albus," I said, determined this time not to be told there was nothing.

The twinkle in his eyes returned completely.

"Go to Harry, Sirius," he replied. "Be there for James and Lily's son."

I did not hesitate one second before apparating to the Weasleys'. Molly was in the kitchen and let me in promptly. She was getting her children ready to go to Muriel's at Arthur's earlier request. Harry was sitting at the table with Ron and Ginny eating pieces of dry cereal and throwing handfuls at Fred and George, who were under their mother's feet as much as they could be. The other Weasley child, Percy, was apparently somewhere reading a book according to the twins' joking comments (until Molly threatened to take their dessert if they did not leave Percy alone.)

Harry saw me immediately, while he was throwing a handful at Fred (assuming the twins were wearing the correctly lettered shirt), and squealed out my name in happiness.

"Padfoot!"

All the worries I had had minutes prior vanished at the sound of his innocent voice. He held up his hands in a gesture that clearly meant for me to pick him up and I wasted no time in complying. Although he was nearly five, he still fit perfectly in my arms just as he had the first time I held him…except I was not cradling him. Instead I was holding him like any caring adult would hold a small child.

"Where's Uncle Moony?" he asked, Lily's innocent green eyes staring up at me with wonder.

I hesitated, my voice catching in my throat.

"He's gone right now, Harry," I tried to answer with an even voice.

Apparently I did not achieve that feat, because his next words cut through my heart with an icy blade.

"Like Mummy and Daddy gone?"

The memory of Remus and me (mostly Remus) explaining to Harry where his parents were, as opposed to where Diane was then, hit me like the Hogwarts Express. There must have been something in my voice that somehow had reminded Harry of that conversation from so long ago.

"No, Harry, not like your mummy and daddy gone," I was glad to tell him. "Gone like Aunt Dee is sometimes."

Harry's small mouth formed an 'O' and I knew he understood.

"Fred! George! Get your hands away from that bag!"

The twins guiltily turned around to face their mother, and I was glad that I was not on the other side of her glare. Only Lily Potter's glare could match hers in extremities. She turned to me, her signature glare disappearing immediately.

"Sirius, dear, why don't you—?"

Whatever she was going to ask me was cut off the tapping of an owl at the window. She flicked her wand towards the window and it opened, the owl flying in and dropping its letter in my hand. I opened it. The handwriting was very familiar, and for a moment, I almost thought it was a letter informing me of the specifics of my next detention. Then I realized I was no longer in Hogwarts and therefore could not receive any further detentions.

_Dear Mister Black,_

_Professor Dumbledore requests your presence along with Mrs. Weasley in his office at Hogwarts. You may leave the Weasley children at Muriel's or you may bring them along, but Harry needs to be here. Augusta and Mr. Weasley are already here. Do hurry._

_Sincerely, _

_Professor M. McGonagall_

I read it aloud to Molly, and she wasted no time in finishing her packing.

"Percy!" she yelled up the stairs and the sound of footsteps walking down the stairs answered her. She turned to her other children. "Fred, George, you two grab these."

She handed them a small bag a piece as Percy walked into the kitchen, a book tucked under his arm.

"Percy," she addressed her eldest son present, "you're in charge of Ron and Ginny."

She sat the two on the ground as she said this and grabbed one of their hands, putting them into Percy's hands. She herded them to the fireplace and grabbed the floo powder off the top shelf.

"Aunt Muriel is expecting you," she told her children. "Don't give her any trouble." She looked specifically at the twins when she said this. "Be on your best behaviors and, Percy, do not let Fred and George misbehave."

"Yes, Mum," Percy said, puffing up his chest with pride.

I noticed the twins roll their eyes behind his back.

"Now, Percy, you, Ron, and Ginny go through first," she said, throwing a handful of floo powder in the fire.

It turned bright green and the three stepped in.

"Aunt Muriel's!" Percy cried, his voice full of determination.

The three of them disappeared and the fire turned back to orange. Molly turned to the twins.

"I mean it, you two, I don't want to hear _one_ word of your misbehaviour, or there'll be dire consequences!"

To the twins' credit, they did look a little intimidated at her threat. She smiled at them lovingly and threw another handful of floo powder in the fire.

"In you go; I'll see you in a few hours."

Fred and George climbed into the fireplace and said, "Aunt Muriel's!" in synchronization. They disappeared and Molly turned to me.

"Shouldn't we get going?"

She held out the floo powder to me and I grabbed a handful, throwing it into the fire. I climbed in with Harry tucked closely to me.

"The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts!"

As I have previously stated, I am not that graceful at traveling by the Floo Network. I never have been and I probably never will be, but that particular time I managed to at least keep my balance well enough to pass Harry off to Arthur before somersaulting across Professor Dumbledore's office. I picked myself up off the floor and dusted myself off. That had happened too many times for me to feel even slightly embarrassed by my entrance. Five amused faces watched me, and I shrugged in response, taking Harry from Arthur.

"Thanks, Arthur."

He laughed in response and the two of us turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"I believe you all know why we're here," he began, and then looked over to Molly. "Except you, my dear."

Molly's brow creased, a clear sign she did indeed not know why we were asked to meet with Professor Dumbledore. Apparently Arthur had not had the chance to inform his wife of the specifics of just how he found our house. It surprised me initially that she was not already told because of the way she immediately dropped everything to do as Professor Dumbledore, or in this case Professor McGonagall, asked of her. The moment I thought this, however, I flashed back to the War; Molly had always had complete faith in Professor Dumbledore and when he said jump, she jumped, no questions asked. I smiled at this. Molly Weasley was the exact kind of woman I hoped I would one day find—only minus the severity she possessed.

"Would you mind telling me exactly what this is about, Albus?" she asked, her voice making her request sound more like a command.

She may have complete faith in Professor Dumbledore, but that did not mean he was above that glare of hers.

Professor Dumbledore looked not at her, but at me.

"Sirius, would you care to enlighten Molly. It is, after all, not my secret to tell."

It was not mine either, and I almost said that. I glanced from Professor Dumbledore to Molly to Harry and back to Professor Dumbledore, realizing that it was, indeed, my secret to tell. It had been my secret to keep and protect since that day in second year when James, Pettigrew, and I finally figured out Remus's secret.

* * *

It was 22 October 1972, the second full moon of our second year and the eleventh full moon since the four of us—James, Remus, Pettigrew, and I—had started Hogwarts. I remember that it was an uncharacteristically cold night, and Remus had once again fed the three of us the whole my-mother-is-sick-and-I-need-to-visit-her story. James and I immediately started to try to convince him not to go, to just sit that visit out. After all, the weather was dreadful, and Remus had been looking ill for a few days prior.

"Rem, don't go this time, please," I had begged him, practically falling off of the sofa in the common room to my knees in front of where he was standing.

"I have to," he had replied with a tinge of sadness to his voice. "I'm expected to."

Remus had always had a way to twist around words so that he meant them one way but they sounded as though they meant another way. Maybe it was because he constantly had to lie about his condition—to lie about himself. Or maybe it was because of the mischievous little boy that was buried deep inside of him, that only came out when he was carelessly having the time of his life.

"It's just once, Rem," James had backed me up, even dropping to his knees beside of me.

I could see Remus's resolve beginning to waver and I thought, as my naïve twelve year old self, that he was seriously considering sitting back down in the squashy armchair. His eyes flashed towards the window where the evening sky could be seen darkening.

"I'm sorry, James," he said, taking a step back, "but it'd be better if I hurry up and leave. It'll be getting darker soon."

"Are you sure you have to go?" Pettigrew had asked. He had not quite fallen to his knees like James and I had, although it was evident he wanted to, but he had sat forward in his armchair and abandoned his potions essay.

Remus glanced at the window again and then to Pettigrew.

"Sorry, Pete."

With that and a look of apology in all of our directions, Remus sidestepped James and me and walked out of the common room.

"I don't see why he has to go every month," Pettigrew had said, his voice annoyed, as he picked up his potions essay.

That was the statement that caused something to click inside both mine and James's heads.

"Do either of you remember when _exactly_ Remus visited his mother last month?" James asked.

"The twenty-second maybe? The twenty-third?" I offered, knowing I was at least in the quidditch pitch because he missed first Gryffindor party of the year.

James pulled out his astronomy homework, and at first I was not sure why it could be more important than the conversation we were having. His moon chart fell out, and I realized what he was checking.

"There was a full moon one of those nights?" I asked him in a whisper.

James leaned forward and Pettigrew also, who had once again abandoned his potions essay. James looked over at Pettigrew and then met my eyes, his hazel eyes, for once, showing the iciness my gray eyes were well-known for.

"The twenty-third."

My stomach hit the floor, and I am pretty sure my jaw was not far behind it. James and Pettigrew had mirrored expressions of fear and slight revulsion; however, to James's credit, there was another calmer emotion playing across his face: understanding.

"His mother's not sick."

Even to my own ears, my voice sounded as though it belonged to someone else. James bit his bottom lip and shook his head slowly.

"He did say he was expected," Pettigrew had said.

James looked over at him.

"Which he was… just not by his mother."

"Why didn't he tell us? I mean, we're his friends and friends tell friends things like this," Pettigrew had asked.

At the time his logic made complete since to James and him, but I knew better. I was, after all, the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and very much aware of the prejudices of the wizarding world.

"Because it would have changed everything if we had've known to begin with," I replied softly, knowing that neither James nor Pettigrew had been exposed to the things I had been born into. "Think of it: if you had known he was…a werewolf the moment you met him, would you have still became friends with him? I mean, he is supposedly a dark creature."

I think that was one of the few times that I truly stumped James in my insight and knowledge of the dark arts, even if I was merely alluding to them that particular time.

"You're right, Sirius. We wouldn't have given Remus a chance if we would've known," James agreed, looking embarrassed at the mentioning of what would have happened. "But now it's different. Remus is still the same bloke who checks my defense against the dark arts homework and helps me train for the quidditch tryouts even though he doesn't care much for the sport. Just because I know one more thing about him doesn't mean anything."

I did not doubt that James meant every word he said. He gave me a pointed look, challenging me to say that I now thought of Remus differently.

"I agree, James," I said, my tone almost matching James's. "Remus is still the same bloke who would share his last piece of toast if you wanted it… but not his chocolate."

"And the same one that would let you win a game of wizard's chess every once in a while," Pettigrew added as he looked pointedly at a now guilty looking James.

"But you're just down right awful, Pete," James had replied and then motioned to me. "Sirius is even better than you are!"

That was the end of our conversation about Remus. The next morning we went and visited him in the hospital wing, sneaking in because we knew Madame Pomfrey would _never_ let us see him otherwise. After promising and reassuring Remus numerous times, he finally accepted that we were not going to abandon him just because we knew that one little minuet detail about him.

* * *

"Sirius?" Molly said my name expectantly, knocking me out of my reverie.

I cleared my throat, in an effort to stall enough time to remember just exactly what I was supposed to be telling her.

"Why are we here?"

Then I remembered. I cleared my throat again, this time out of necessity.

"I've never been one to toss the quaffle around the goal posts, so I'm just going to flat out tell you: Remus is…" I almost faltered but gathered my wits at the last second. "Remus is a werewolf."

I watched as emotions played across her face from confusion to revulsion to worry, and then she took a deep breath.

"Is that it?" she asked, her voice strangely calm.

I lowered my eyebrows, glancing quickly over at Professor Dumbledore and then back to Molly.

"I just told you my best friend and one of Harry's caretakers is a werewolf and that's all you want to know?"

She looked at me in surprise.

"What else do you expect from me, Sirius? Albus obviously knew the entire time, and he was the person who handed Harry over to Remus. If Albus thinks he is harmless, then what room do I have to throw around ridiculous prejudices?"

Arthur shifted uncomfortably beside of her as Augusta's earlier words fell from his wife's lips, and I could have kissed Molly's cheek in happiness. I, instead, settled for smiling widely at her in wonder. She returned my smile, albeit with one of her own that was not nearly as large, before turning to Professor Dumbledore.

"Why did you call us here, Albus?" she asked.

Before Professor Dumbledore could respond, the door opened and Professor McGonagall and Augusta walked in. Augusta's eyes fell upon me, and she laughed quietly. I looked at her questioningly.

"Did you travel here by the Floo Network again?" she asked, clearly amused.

"I did," I replied in confusion. "How did you know?"

She laughed harder.

"You're covered in soot _and _the rug in front of the fireplace is as well. You, Sirius Black, are the only wizard I know that thinks somersaulting is an acceptable way to exit the fireplace."

The rest of the room laughed along with her as I sputtered in indignation at her.

"Uncle Padfoot?" Harry asked, looking up at me innocently.

"Yes, Harry?"

"You look like Moony did the oder day when Aunt Dee casted a quiet spell on him."

I sighed.

"Are you saying I look like a flobberworm trying to talk?" I asked him.

He nodded enthusiastically, and I could not help but smile down at him.

"What news have you, my dear Minerva?" Professor Dumbledore asked, changing the topic of conversation for my benefit.

"Remus is still in Poppy's care. Diane is there as well and said she had some news for you," she replied briskly.

"What is Remus's condition?" Arthur asked.

"Stable, but he still has not regained consciousness," she replied.

"When will will he?" Arthur questioned.

"Poppy thinks he should wake by tomorrow morning."

Professor Dumbledore turned his attention to Augusta.

"Did you find anything out, Augusta?"

She shook her head in response.

"There was nothing special about last night's moon," she replied verbally. "However, according to Amos Diggory, there was nothing important about last night's moon. He went on to say that, and I quote, ' only Albus Dumbledore would know why something like this happened.'"

Professor Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"Sirius, why don't you take Harry down to visit Remus," he suggested. "Send Diane up here, if you can, and we can discuss this matter further."

Before I could answer, though, Harry cut me off with an excited squeal.

"I get to see Uncle Moony?"

I smiled down at him.

"You get to see Uncle Moony."

An even bigger smile broke out on his face as I glanced up over to Professor Dumbledore.

"I'll send her, but I dunno if she will leave Remus's side."

"I doubt it," I heard Augusta muttered to Professor McGonagall.

I almost laughed as I walked out of the Headmaster's Office with an ecstatic Harry in tow.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said, this was an extremely long chapter. I pretty much surprised myself by the length of it. I hope you enjoyed it and, as usual, I apologize for any grammatical/spelling mistakes. **

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	24. Chapter 24

**All the following content you could possibly recognize, I do not own, just for the record.**

Strangely enough, it only took three weeks for Remus to fully recover. A week after his full recovery, the full moon was just like any other. Although we searched constantly for the peculiarity of that fateful full moon, we moved on with our lives of raising Harry.

It was late May of that year, and just happened to be the one year anniversary of Remus and Diane's marriage. Molly, Augusta, and I had spent the weeks prior to that day planning to a surprise party. The twenty-fourth was on a Friday, and that thankfully meant both Remus and Diane would be working for the majority of the day.

I woke up that morning courtesy of my godson flipping me out of the bed with all his strength. I landed on the floor with a _thump!_ in some sort of sticky substance. I would soon find out that the sticky substance was none other than the potion Diane had brewed that had the horrible consequence of coating whatever it touched with itching powder.

"Harry," I groaned once I realized what exactly it was that I had fallen into.

"Uncle Moony says the only way to wake Padfoot up is to roll him out of bed!"

I looked up to Harry from my position on the floor and met his innocent green eyes. "Does Uncle Moony also tell you to put Aunt Dee's potion for me to fall into?"

Harry grinned that grin of his that should be outlawed and shook his head.

"No, Uncle Moony did that himself."

"Harry, you weren't supposed to tell Uncle Padfoot exactly what Uncle Moony is up to," Remus had lightly reprimanded him from the doorway of the room.

Harry flashed his grin over his small shoulder at Remus.

"How are you feeling, Moony?" I had asked, silently vowing to get my werewolf friend back.

He shrugged. "One year of official marriage to the love of my life? I've been a _lot_ worse."

I was about to give him a quirky retort, but the urge to scratch became too much. For the next few minutes, rational conversation became impossible. I remember Remus having to bewitch a pair of earmuffs to place on Harry's ears just so he would not hear my profanities.

"Remus, dear," Diane had said, being my saving grace that morning, "don't you think you have tortured poor Sirius enough?"

Remus turned around to give his wife a kiss. "I don't think there's ever something called _enough_ when it comes to torturing Padfoot…"

"Well, even so, would you be a dear and clean up this so that he can go over to Augusta's and take care of her doxy problem? She's been after him for about a week to do that for her."

Diane had no idea that Augusta did not want me to take care of her inexistent doxy problem; she wanted me to help get everything ready for the anniversary party. I was not going to tell her that detail, though; especially since it was going to get me out of the predicament I was in.

Regardless, Remus sighed and flicked his wand. The gooey substance disappeared instantly off the floor, but I was still itching.

"You're getting a little rusty in your olden age, Moony."

Remus regarded me questioningly.

"Your spell didn't take care of the itchy problem your stupid prank caused."

He laughed the same laugh I had heard countless time over the years—the one I knew meant nothing good.

"It wasn't supposed to; that'll wear off…eventually."

"Eventually?"

He barked out a laugh again. I turned to Diane.

"Do you have the antidote?"

She looked at me over Remus's shoulder, her expression grim. "I did, but… that was the potion Remus cleaned up last night while he was doing kitchen duty."

I could have hexed Remus with my wand across the room, I was so mad; however, since Harry was in the room, I tried to keep my anger in check.

"Like Remus said, it'll wear off."

"How soon?"

She took a step backwards, smiling devilishly. "A few hours."

"A few hours?" I repeated in shock before turning to Remus. "Moony!"

He laughed nervously a couple of times before bolting out of the room. I chased after him, transforming into Padfoot in the process. It was another two hours before I made my way over to Augusta's.

* * *

As soon as Remus and Diane left for work, Harry and I floo'd over to Augusta's, and just like any other time I had used the floo network, I stumbled my way out of the fireplace. Harry, thankfully inheriting James's flawless exit and not mimicking my inept exit, departed the fireplace with ease. I picked myself up off of Augusta's rug and dusted myself off before she entered the lounge with Neville at her heels.

"Neville!" Harry had exclaimed.

Augusta looked down at Neville. "Why don't you take Harry upstairs and play a game of wizards chess?"

The two lads did not need to be told a second time. Neville ran over to Harry and the two hurried out of the room, leaving Augusta and me to get the house ready for the anniversary party.

"If you two had waited half an hour longer to come over, I swear I would've had to floo over there with Neville. All he's talked about this morning is getting to play with Harry today."

I laughed. "Harry was excited also; I don't think I could've waited an extra half of and hour to come over."

"Oh, well, you two are here now, and we have a lot of work to do."

I slapped my hands together, ready to start getting things ready for the party. I had thought of a great way to get Remus back for the itching potion incident while chasing him around and trying desperately to find my wand (that I later found out Diane had hidden in fear of me hexing Remus into oblivion.) The key to my plan laid in the preparation of the party and the careful use of my available resources.

"If you would get everything ready in the lounge and the foyer, I can handle the kitchen," Augusta said.

I had laughed.

"You afraid of what I might do if I was left with the kitchen?"

"I've heard Diane's horror stories of you _stepping_ into her kitchen," she said with a smile. "Scratch that. I've _seen_ those horror stories. Need I remind you about the time you left your godson alone in the kitchen with your wand?"

I rolled my eyes and huffed.

"Harry conjures one measly dragon on my watch and nearly destroys the kitchen, and I never hear the end of it!"

Augusta's smile turned into a laugh.

"I would prefer to keep my kitchen in one piece."

I rolled my eyes and reached into my back pocket for my wand.

"Unless you want to remind me of my other mishaps that nearly destroys some part of the house, I think I'll get to work on those streamers."

Augusta nodded and began to walk back to the kitchen. She stopped at the doorway of the lounge and turned back to face me.

"You know, Sirius, I could _always_ remind you of that time you nearly blew up the lounge of your house when you used Diane's old broken wand."

I narrowed my eyes at my friend.

"That was not my fault, Augusta. Diane should have known better than to leave Moony and me alone in the same room during a game of gobstones."

"And why's that?"

"Because Moony had his wand and was cheating. My wand was upstairs on in the trousers I had worn to Diagon Alley that day. How was I supposed to know that the wand on the table was not safe to use?"

Augusta shook her head in disbelief, laughing as she walked out of the lounge. She left me to decorate the lounge, and I quickly began working.

* * *

"Harry! Neville!" I called up the stairs.

Two small feet appeared at the top and began to ascend.

It was a few hours after I had arrived at Augusta's, and the Augusta was currently letting the Grangers into the house. Remus and Diane were due back from work in any minute. They were both given specific instructions to go over to Augusta's after they changed out of their work clothes.

"Hermione!" the two boys exclaimed the instant they arrived on the ground floor landing and spotted the girl.

They ran to her and immediately pulled her into the lounge, talking animatedly about their day of playing wizards and dragons. Hermione allowed herself to be lead over to the corner in the lounge where the game of children's gobstones was set up.

"Diane's is home," Jeannette announced as the four of us adults walked into the lounge.

Upon Jeannette's words, the orange fire turned emerald green, and I initially feared it was Diane and Remus. It was too early for the two to come over, as the Weasleys were not yet there. I need not to have worried, though, as it was indeed the Weasleys who stepped through. Molly and Ginny appeared first, followed by Percy and the twins, and then by Arthur and Ron.

Dusting herself off, Molly greeted us, "Sorry we're late, dears, but we had a little problem with the ghoul in the attic."

"How is Ron liking his new room?" I had asked.

Up until a few days prior, Ron and Ginny had occupied one of the first floor bedrooms. Although the youngest Weasley siblings did not quarrel with each other and actually got along very well, the two were old enough to have their own rooms, and Ron had been moved to the only remaining empty bedroom of the Weasley house: the attic bedroom.

Molly looked to her son in question as he and his brothers and sister crowded around the game of gobstones.

"We can barely get him to leave it."

I laughed.

"Guess that's always better than barely getting him to enter it."

Molly inclined her head in agreement as David poked his head through Augusta's curtains. From that vantage point, he would have a plain view of my house.

"Remus is also home; they're on their way over now."

I saw Arthur stiffen at the mention of Remus's name. Ever since that fateful day the Weasley's found out about Remus's condition, Arthur had not been himself around Remus.

"Sirius, would you like to do the honors?" Augusta asked me, referring to the cloaking spell that would hide us and the evidence of the party from Remus and Diane.

"Certainly," I had agreed, fighting to keep the smile of triumph off of my face.

Augusta had no idea what she allowing me to do, and Remus had no idea he was just minutes away from payback.

I flicked my wand, silently saying the correct spell. I watched over David's shoulder through the window as Remus and Diane began to walk up to the front door. A few seconds later, three knocks sounded through the quiet house. Augusta flicked her wand and banged a few pots and pans against each other in the kitchen as if she had been in there.

"It's open!" she called loud enough to for Remus and Diane to hear.

The door creaked open, and the light in the hallway immediately turned on. Remus shut the door behind them, unaware of both our presence and my payback.

"Augusta?" Remus called out.

"I'll meet you in the lounge!" Augusta called back.

Her voice actually sounded like she was in the kitchen. I looked over at her. She had her wand up to her throat, and I realized her voice was altered by a spell.

I turned back to Remus and Diane. They were entering the lounge and the original part of my spell began to wear off.

"Happy anniversary!" we wished Remus and Diane as we lost our cloak.

Although they were initially startled, Remus and Diane laughed and happily thanked us as they entered the lounge. Remus was the first one to step from the hallway to the lounge. As he entered, the effects of my altered spell took place, and his legs were knocked out from under him. Instead of landing face first on the floor in front of him, as he naturally would have, Remus was ejected back into the hallway and landed face first into Diane's latest batch of the Wizard's Anti-Flu Potion. The potion normally reduces the symptoms of the Wizard's Flu if the witch or wizard has it, but if they do not, the potion disables them from talking coherently.

"toofdap, enod uoy evah tahw?" Remus bellowed.

He lowered his eyebrows in confusion as he sent me a murderous look. I laughed as my friend tried to talk again.

"siht si tahw?"

Diane took a step toward her husband, examining the potion. She looked over at me and then back down to the potion before bursting out in laughter.

"It's payback, Moony," I told him.

"Tahw rof kcabyap?"

Diane continued to laugh.

"Oh, I dunno, Moony, maybe for your itching potion this morning."

Remus laughed a couple of times.

"taht ho."

He groaned in annoyance.

"ffo raew ot gniog siht si?"

I shrugged.

"Dunno. It's the work of your dear wife," I told him. "So, eventually, maybe."'

By that time, everyone else had also found amusement in the situation. It was a few minutes before anyone could attempt rational conversation.

"What is that, Sirius?" Jeannette questioned, her face red from laughter.

"It's a potion called Wizard's Anti-Flu."

Jeannette lowered her eyebrows in confusion. Sometimes I forget she was a mere muggle and had no prior knowledge of the wizarding world. Growing up as a pureblood, I did not know how to explain it to her. Thankfully, Diane had stopped laughing enough to explain it to the Grangers in terms they would understand.

"The Wizard's Flu is very similar to the muggle counterpart. Instead of taking antiviral drugs, this potion is used. If the person who takes it does not have the Wizard's Flu, then…well, this happens," she motioned toward Remus who was still sputtering nonsense words. "It takes anywhere from five to eight hours to wear off."

Diane looked over at me. Her expression was not as severe as I expected it to be; instead, I could have sworn I saw a trace of admiration. I smirked at her.

"This is going to be quiet an evening," I said.

It was. Remus continued to reel from the effect of the potion for the next eight hours. Although Arthur obviously kept his distance from Remus and Remus tried desperately to get me back for the potion, the rest of the party was relatively uneventful. About half an hour after Remus and Diane's arrival, Diane took Remus's wand in fear of his revenge on me—an ironic contrast to that morning's events. All in all, though, the anniversary party was more enjoyable than either Augusta or I could have imagined it would have been.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize about the tardiness of my update. I blame it solely on my hectic schedule; however, I think I may have gotten the hang of everything. I hope to be able to update more oftenly. I also apologize about any grammatical mistakes or other obvious ones.**

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	25. Chapter 25

**I apologize about the tardiness of my update. I own nothing you recognize.**

Over the next few months following Remus and Diane's anniversary party, Arthur's animosity became too noticeable to ignore. I often brought it to Remus's attention—saying he and Arthur needed to work something out before everything blew up in their faces like one of Diane's failed potions—but he always side stepped the topic.

Looking back on it, I think he was more afraid of Arthur than Arthur was of him. Remus would never admit that, of course, but Merlin knows Arthur could let one word slip about Remus's custody of Harry to the Ministry, and Remus would lose a lot more than Harry. Remus's approach to the boiling situation, therefore, was to not approach it at all, although I warned him otherwise.

For once, Remus should have listened to me.

October came quickly that year, and before I realized it, it was 31 October 1985, four years after the death of two of my best friends. Diane, Remus, and I had invited the Grangers, Longbottoms, and Weasleys over for another Halloween get together as we had the year before. After all, Halloween was the day we honored James and Lily by swapping sweet memories we had of them. Unlike the year before, Arthur had informed me that he and his family would not be in attendance.

I should have realized right then and there that _something _was about to change.

I did not.

It was a Thursday; therefore, Diane was required to be at Hogwarts for at least half of the day. When I woke that morning, later than usual I might add, Diane had already left, and Remus was in the lounge with Harry.

If there was one day out of the year that no major pranks was pulled, it was Halloween. I found it too painful to instigate what James loved the most. Remus, I assume, was too caught up in the memories that day brought. With that in mind, there are no words to describe the surprise I felt when I saw the green and purple stripes in Remus's usually brown hair.

"You godson somehow got his hands on your wand," Remus said to me.

He did not even look up from the newspaper to see the expression on my face. Harry played innocently at his feet with his miniature quidditch set.

"Apparently he thinks I look good with green and purple hair. I personally think he's spent too much time around Fred and George Weasley."

Laughter escaped my lips as my mind flashed back to the first time I had met Arthur and Molly's twins. I could still perfectly picture Remus with lime green hair and then with bright pink hair. It had taken him almost three hours to remove the latter.

"I think my godson's right, Moony," I had replied in defense of Harry.

"You would."

I walked across the room and sat down in one of the arm chairs.

"Oh, and, er, I wouldn't sit there."

"Why?" I questioned.

Remus did not have to answer. The next thing I knew, the arm chair flipped itself backwards and forced me to do a backwards somersault. I landed with a crash against the wall, knocking off a vase. It shattered on my head and dumped flowers and icy water all over me.

"Because your godson put a charm on it."

"How exactly did Harry learn that charm?"

"Uncle Moony taught me," Harry had replied happily.

"Uncle Moony taught you?" I repeated.

Harry nodded.

"I figured you would get a laugh out of my hair so I might as well get a laugh out of watching you lose a fight with that chair."

I had narrowed my eyes at Remus before turning to Harry, relaxing my facial features.

"Harry, could you hand me my wand back?"

Harry shook his head, his jet black hair swinging back and forth. I felt my chest constrict as my mind immediately flashed to a memory of James.

* * *

It was Christmas 1972, only two months after we had all found out about Remus's secret. The four of us were the only four boys of our year in Gryffindor, and we were among the only ones to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. There was no way I was spending more time than I had to with my old hag of a mum and drunk of a dad. James's parents were vacationing in the north, visiting some of his family that he did not particularly care for, and Remus had opted to stay at Hogwarts for the full moon that had come about on the 20th. I reckon Peter had just stayed at Hogwarts because the other three of us had, but he had never actually stated his reason for staying.

Regardless of any of our motives for staying, we all somehow woke around the same time. Of course, that might have something to do with James launching himself at my bed screaming, "PRESENTS!" at the top of his voice. He hit my mattress with enough force to knock me off into the floor, which I hit painfully.

"You know, you could've jumped on Remus or Peter's beds, right?"

James had laughed in response as he climbed off my bed. He offered his hand to me and helped me to my feet.

"Your bed was closer," was his reply.

He went back to his own bed as I resisted the urge to point out he was wrong; Remus's bed was closer to James's bed than mine was. The only reason I had resisted was because I seen the piles of presents on the foot of my bed that had miraculously not been jarred off from James's landing.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds that were audible were the tearing of wrapping papers and exclamations of pleasure. I was in the middle of opening a rather good sized box from my uncle Alphard, who I had always liked, when James announced his presence once again.

This time he shouted, "REMUS, YOU'RE THE GREATEST FRIEND A BLOKE COULD ASK FOR!"

He then proceeded to drop whatever present he had opened onto his bed and launched himself at Remus's. Remus, having a heads up of what was going to happen, jumped backwards off his bed a fraction of a second before James landed on it.

"I'm assuming you like your chess set, James?"

"Like it? I LOVE it, Remus!"

I guess I forgot to mention that I had broken James's prized chess set a month earlier. He and I had been nearing the end of a game when he instructed his knight to take out my rook. I had been two moves away from a checkmate. I subsequently banged by fist down on the set in anger, and it broke in half. At first James had just stared at the set in a daze, but as his eyes traveled up from the set to meet my eyes, his expression morphed into anger. I did not have time to reach for my wand before he hit me with a spell that knocked me painfully backwards into the wall. With the air knocked out of my chest, I could only watch as James raised his wand again. Remus was quicker, though, and summoned James's wand, which he kept until class the next morning. James had thankfully calmed down by then.

Remus laughed in response to James's exclamation.

"You going to let Sirius play it?"

James's hazel eyes snapped to mine. Although he had since forgiven me for breaking his chess set, he still shook his head, and his hair swung side to side.

* * *

Just like Harry's did then.

Behind Harry, the fire turned from bright orange to emerald green, and a second later, Diane emerged from the fireplace. She exited it with ease and dusted herself off, her eyes landing on Remus's hair and then on my form.

For the next few minutes, Diane's laughter filled the room. In those minutes, Remus kept his attention on the newspaper as he appeared to ignore his wife, and I shot daggers with my eyes at her.

"Dear," she said once her laughter had died down enough, "I do think green and purple suits you."

Remus looked up at her briefly from his newspaper to send her an amused smile.

"So does Padfoot's godson, apparently."

"So this is Harry's doing?"

"As is Padfoot's predicament."

"Don't let Moony pin the blame fully on my innocent godson for this, Diane," I had disagreed. "_Your_ husband gave Harry the spell to use."

Diane attempted to give Remus a disapproving look, but with the smile still on her lips, she failed.

"Can you give me a hand here, Diane?" I had asked, knowing Remus would not.

She took pity on me and restored everything that had gone out of place during my crash with a wave of her wand. I thanked her and noticed Remus's hair was rapidly turning back to its original colour.

"As much enjoyment as I am getting out of this, I'm going to get things started in the kitchen. Augusta, Neville, and the Grangers are going to be over in a couple of hours."

She began to walk out of the lounge in the direction of the kitchen when she stopped in her tracks and turned to face me.

"Have you talked to Arthur or Molly today?"

"No, why?"

"I was just wondering if they had changed their minds about not coming over."

"I don't think they'll change their minds about this, Diane. Arthur isn't taking the werewolf thing as well as we had hoped."

She nodded, her expression telling me she had expected as much.

"I guess we should just give them some space for now," she said before disappearing into the kitchen.

She was wrong. Giving them space was the worst possible reaction we could have had, but we did not know that at the time.

A flash of light appeared outside the window, and Diane's next words chilled me to the bones.

"It's the Werewolf Capture Unit! They're surrounding the house!"

She ran back into the lounge.

"Remus, get out of here."

Remus sat glued to his seat. I could the thoughts running through his mind: he was losing everything he had.

"Diane, get Harry and leave. Go to Augusta's and inform her of what's happening and then apparate to your mum's. Don't look back. Moony and I will handle this."

She looked at me dumbfounded.

"Don't apparate from here; they'll know someone left. Use the floo network. You haven't been home long so it won't register your departure, and I hope Harry is still too young for it to register his."

At the urgency of my voice, Diane did not hesitate. She rushed over and gathered Harry in her arms. My wand fell to the ground by her feet. I quickly picked it up before ushering her and Harry into the fire. She met Remus's eyes for one last time before disappearing in the emerald flames, carrying my innocent godson to safety.

I looked away from the fireplace and to Moony. The moment the flames turned back to their normal orange, he had snapped out of his daze. There was a look of determination in his eyes that only a cornered animal could possess. His eyes met mine, and we silently agreed on one thing: we had to get rid of all traces of Diane and Harry.

"If we both cast the spell, they will have a harder time tracing it," I said to him.

He nodded and pulled out his wand.

"On the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"_Deleo Vestigium_."

I watched every trace of Harry and Diane disappear from the lounge. Every picture, every toy, every Diane touch disappeared instantly as if they had never existed. I looked through the door to the kitchen and saw no potion vials or cauldrons or any indication that Diane the potion's mistress and cook had ever graced the threshold. I could only hope our spell had hit the entire house.

A voice drifted through the doorway.

"We know you're in there, werewolf. Cooperate or we will be forced to use lethal force."

I looked over at Remus.

"Whatever happens, Moony, I will not rest until the entire mess is sorted out. I did not skate around and resist the urge to kill Pettigrew four years ago for either of us to lose everything now."

The voice drifted to us once again.

"Come out slowly with your hands in plain sight. Don't make any sudden movement. If there are any wizards or witches in there with you, announce their presence and send them out first."

Remus and I sighed.

"Grab a beater bat, Moony, 'cause they're about to launch some bludgers at us."

Remus offered a half-smile to me as we walked toward the door.

"Wizard, Sirius Black, is coming out," he said loud enough for them to hear.

I opened the door and stepped through, my mind replaying Harry's pranks that seemed like a lifetime ago.

Halloween was definitely not my favourite holiday.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize once again about the delayed update. My flash drive crashed and i lost everything, which sent me into a major writer's block. I'm hopefully over it and will be able to update this at least another time before Christmas break ends. **

**Thank you for reading, and please review.  
**


	26. Chapter 26

**Although Christmas has passed in the week since I've last updated, I did not acquire the ownership of Harry Potter as a present. *Sigh* It looks like JK Rowling still owns that. Oh well. I guess I'll still have to borrow her stuff for a little while. Enjoy...**

"_Wizard, Sirius Black, is coming out_."

Two long and dreary weeks had passed since Remus had uttered those words. Fourteen days had passed since I saw my last living best friend. An escapable length of a fortnight had passed since I had last enjoyed the company of my godson. Over three hundred thirty-six hours had passed since I last tasted a freshly cooked meal so delicious only Diane could have made it. At least, twenty thousand one hundred sixty minutes had passed since my life as I knew it changed drastically once again.

I had been taken into custody and placed into a holding cell. I did not even have a chance to run or to escape or even to explain myself. There were at least thirty agents of the Werewolf Capture Unit surrounding our house, and each had their wands trained on the front door. When I stepped through the doorway into the late afternoon October air, about half of them turned their wands on me.

"Keep your hands where we can see them," someone commanded.

I did not care to look around and see who specifically was speaking. Even if I had tried to look, I would not have had the time to, because the next thing I knew, two wizards were gripping my arm. I then felt the familiar pull of travel by portkey. They deposited me in the same room that I had not left for two weeks.

It was a small room, only large enough for a bed, a toilet, and a sink. It reminded me a lot of a prison cell in the muggle world, but at least it was not Azkaban. I did not think I could live through Azkaban and could only hope Remus was not residing there.

Surprisingly enough, my wand had not been confiscated. With that said, there were anti-apparation wards on the room just like Hogwarts had. I also discovered, within the first few hours, that I could only cast the simplest of spells. I could not even cast the last spell Remus had taught Harry.

Harry. My dear, sweet, innocent godson, Harry. I could only hope Diane had gotten him to safety.

Caught up in thoughts of Harry, I did not notice the door of my cell opening; therefore, it was a bit of a surprise to see Albus Dumbledore standing before me.

"Albus."

My voice was scratchy. I had not used it in two weeks. No one had even come to question me about Remus or our living conditions. When they first left me in the cell, I thought every creak was someone coming to interrogate me; however, after the first three days of being locked up, I stopped thinking that.

I opened my mouth to ask the whereabouts of Diane and of Harry but snapped it shut immediately. Call me paranoid, but I was almost certain that I was being watched.

Professor Dumbledore read my unasked question.

"A mutual acquaintance of ours informed me just this morning of the rate of safe trips within the country."

I inwardly jumped for joy. Diane and Harry had safely made it to her mother's. I knew at that moment in time that there was at least one thing in the world on that November day.

"Speaking of mutual acquaintances, Albus, how is Moony?"

It was then that I noticed the twinkle missing in Professor Dumbledore's eyes. It felt as though there was a brutal quidditch match being played in my stomach.

"I did everything in my power, Sirius, but, alas, all I could do was have him placed in the section of Azkaban that was less frequently patrolled by the dementors."

The members of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black are known for their ghastly pale skin, but I think I reached a new level of pale at Professor Dumbledore's words. Remus Lupin, the kindest soul I had ever known, was in literal hell on earth, and there was nothing the Great Albus Dumbledore could do to change that.

"Since when?"

"Halloween night. My understanding is that they did not even question him before throwing him to the wolves, pardon my pun."

A stream of curse words flew my mind, but I did not let them escape my lips. I guess it was ingrained from seven years of studying beneath Professor Dumbledore and his staff, but I felt the urge to censor my language.

"Sounds like something they would've done during the war," I retorted.

Professor Dumbledore inclined his head. Although I had meant my statement lightly, I knew the cold, hard truth behind it.

My mind instantly flashed to the night James and Lily had died, and I could not help but to think of what could have happened if Professor Dumbledore had not personally restrained me from going after Pettigrew. If Pettigrew could betray James and Lily without our knowing, he could certainly frame me as their betrayer. Had that have happened, I knew without a doubt in my mind that the authorities would have thrown me into the worst cell in Azkaban without even stopping to ask me a single question.

If Professor Dumbledore read my internal thoughts, he did not comment on it. Instead, he continued our conversation as if the past five minutes of my internal narration had not existed.

"It indeed does, Sirius," he agreed, "and as unnerving as that fact is, it does not help our situation. We need to get Remus out of this predicament."

I felt my eyes light up at his words.

"You have an idea of how to accomplish this?"

"I do."

I waited patiently for Professor Dumbledore to explain whatever was on his all-knowing mind. At the time, it felt like forever before he spoke again, but looking back, I guess it was not more than a couple of minutes.

"You have a cousin, Sirius, who will help us out."

Never could I have imagined Professor Dumbledore uttering those words. Who in their sane mind would rely on someone from _my_ family of pureblood fanatics to save the life of a werewolf? He had to have been mistaken.

"I beg your pardon, Albus, but I don't think anyone from my family will be willing to help neither Remus nor especially me."

Professor Dumbledore looked at me over his half-moon spectacles.

"Are you certain of this, Sirius?"

He asked me as though I was not a twenty-five year old adult with a family, but as if I was a fifteen year old teenager with a couple of dungbombs in my back pocket. I could almost feel the presence of James at my left, looking over my shoulder at Professor Dumbledore with the same expression of surprise on his face that I knew was on mine. If I had closed my eyes and blocked out the stench of the cell, I could picture Professor Dumbledore uttering those exact words in his circular office.

I did not close my eyes, though, and I knew this matter was bigger than any prank I had ever pulled on the Slytherins back at Hogwarts. This was a matter of saving Remus—my last remaining best friend—from a fate he did not deserve and raising Harry—my godson—in the memory of his parents to the best of my ability.

"Who in my family would help the blood traitor and his werewolf friend?"

"Andromeda and Ted Tonks."

I could have slapped myself in the forehead for my stupidity. Of course my favorite cousin and her husband would not hesitate to help me out of a tight spot, but how could either of them help me in this particular situation?

Professor Dumbledore seemed to read my question on my face.

"Are you aware of their occupations, Sirius?"

"Andi is a healer on floor one at St. Mungo's."

"What is floor one of St. Mungo's?"

I felt like rolling my eyes. Every witch and wizard alive knew what floor one was of St. Mungo's. Why would Professor Dumbledore ask such an obvious question?

"Creature-Induced Injuries."

Saying the words out loud, I realized the exact reason Professor Dumbledore was so hung up on trivial facts.

"That's where they will take Remus if…?"

I did not have the aspiration to finish my question. I did not need to anyway; Professor Dumbledore knew what I was asking.

He nodded.

"If push comes to shove, we'll have that to fall back on," he said.

The fact that Professor Dumbledore was laying out a backup plan before he even discussed the original plan put my nerves on edge.

"Andromeda's occupation is not the crucial one at the moment; Ted's is. Do you know what it is?"

I hesitated. I should have known the answer, but I realized I did not. I only knew where he worked, not what he did.

"He works at the Ministry."

Professor Dumbledore nodded his head.

"Do you know exactly what he does, Mister Black?"

I shook my head.

"He was transferred to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures this past January."

"I thought his wanted to work for the Department of Magical Transportation?"

"I have heard he will be transferred there sometime within the next few months, but that is not why I asked you where he worked, Sirius."

He did not proceed to explain why he had asked me where he worked. Instead, he once again observed me over his half-moon spectacles.

After a few seconds of racking my brain, it hit me: Ted _worked_ for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Within that department was the Werewolf Capture Unit. Remus—no, we all—still had a fighting chance.

"What do I do?" I asked.

"Some of the wizards who put you in here are going to ask you some questions, and you are to answer them to the best of your ability."

I almost smirked at what Professor Dumbledore was actually telling me: _give them the information they want and nothing more. Leave out Harry and Diane, while avoiding the topic of Remus as much as possible_.

"Then you will be released. I want you to go to your home and _walk_ to our mutual acquaintance's. There you will understand more fully."

I instantly realized why I needed to walk to Augusta's instead of apparating or floo'ing. It was the only form of transportation that could not be magically traced.

Before Professor Dumbledore or I could continue our conversation, the door to my cell opened once again. This time it was three wizards I recognized from the Werewolf Capture Unit. Two of them were the same two that had taken me from my house.

"Mister Black, I just have a few questions for you before I release you," the third wizard said.

I recognized his voice. He was the same man who had spoken to Remus and me two weeks ago.

"Mr. Tonks would like a word with you, Mr. Dumbledore."

Professor Dumbledore nodded once and exited the room. He did not send me a last look of confidence or make any gestures that suggested that our prior conversation had even taken place.

"Follow me, Mister Black," the wizard said. "We'll move this to a more comfortable place."

The more comfortable place turned out to be his office. It was not much bigger than the cell I had just been in. The walls were stone gray, reminding me of the walls at Hogwarts, and a single magical window depicted a fictional lake on the other side of the wall. There was an expensive looking wooden desk that had an array of parchments strewn across it and a nameplate that read "Amos Diggory."

The wizard, who by then I had assumed was Amos, walked around his desk and sat down. This left me to take a seat in one of the two uncomfortable-looking chairs in front of it.

"I just have a series of very simple questions for you, Mister Black," he said. "Is there anything I can get you? Tea? Pumpkin juice?"

There was only one reason for Amos to offer me any type of refreshment: to administer Veritaserum without my knowing. I had two choices: decline any drink, which in turn would tell Amos I knew what he was up to, or accept any drink, which I would have to pretend to consume.

"Tea would be fine, thank you."

Amos stood up from his desk and walked over to the kettle of tea.

"Sugar?"

"Please."

I watched him covertly slip three drops of Veritaserum into my tea and stir it in with the sugar. He walked over and handed it to me. I pretended to take a sip.

"So, Mr. Diggory, what is it that you would like to ask me?"

I did not have time to fly around the quidditch pitch with small talk. I needed to answer his questions quickly so that I could get to Augusta's as soon as possible.

"What is your relationship with Remus Lupin?"

"He's my best mate."

"How long have you known him?"

"Since the train ride to Hogwarts."

Amos nodded his head and glanced down at his desk briefly. It was then that I realized he had charmed a quill to record our conversation.

"How long have you known about Mr. Lupin's condition?"

By the tone of his voice, I knew he had already asked Remus the same question. I could only pray he had chosen to tell the truth.

"Since our second year at Hogwarts so about thirteen years."

Amos nodded. That was good; Remus had also told the truth to that question.

"And you never once considered to report him to the authorities?"

"There is no law forcing wizards and witches to report werewolves; there is just a law that requires a werewolf be registered—which Remus is."

A surprised expression skirted across his face. He had not expected me to know the wizarding law as well as I did. Of course, Amos also did not know that I had dreamed of being an auror when I graduated Hogwarts. I had always wanted to do something that would stand up against my pureblooded family as a way to get back at them for my horrible childhood. I had wanted to free the world of their presences, but then the war had happened. It was more important to fight for the Order than to train to be an auror. During that time, though, I swore to myself I would train to become an auror the moment the war ended. That was before I was entrusted with raising Harry, and Harry was more important that the revenge I wanted to get on my family.

"You reside in a household with Mr. Lupin, correct?"

"Yes, sir. It's financially friendlier than living on our own."

"Our anonymous tip indicated there was a minor living in the household with you, yet I've had every centimeter of that house searched for traces of such and could not find anything. How is that possible?"

By that time, I guess Amos had assumed the Veritaserum had finished spreading through my body and had taken complete hold of my answers.

"It's possible, sir, because there is not a minor that is residing in that house."

If there is one thing I have learned from Remus and the stories he used to conceal his secret, it is to be as truthful as possible with the lie. I had not lied to Amos then; there was no minor living in my house at that moment in time.

"Who ever gave you the tip must have been misinformed."

Amos did not believe my last statement, but I was not surprised. I assumed the person who had given Amos the tip was Arthur Weasley. If I was correct, Amos and Arthur had been friends since they were at Hogwarts, although the two had been in separate houses; therefore, Amos would not believe Arthur would be misinformed about the situation.

Amos proceeded with other questions. He noticed a few minutes later that, other than the initial 'sip' I had taken, I had not touched my tea. I explained to him I preferred my tea hotter than it was. He allowed me to use my wand to heat it back up, and I was forced to silently cast a spell that would drain the liquid ever so often. With me randomly 'sipping' my tea and Amos assuming I was under the influence of the Veritaserum, the conversation lasted another half hour.

When it was finished, Amos led me to the fireplace and offered me a handful of floo powder. Thanking me for my cooperation, he released me to my freedom. I did not hesitate to floo home.

When I unceremoniously fell out of the fireplace into the lounge of my home which I had not stepped inside of for fourteen days, I initially could not bring myself to get up off the floor. It was completely surreal. Although Amos had said he had searched my house, everything was as he and Remus had left it.

My sketchpad was in the floor where I had dropped it two weeks prior when Diane had informed us of the Werewolf Capture Unit surrounding our house. It was still open to the sketch I had been working on—the Potter cottage as I remembered it. The newspaper that Remus had been reading that morning laid on the couch. I could clearly read the date, 31 October 1985, and the headline, "Four Years Ago Today: You-Know-Who's Downfall."

The clock on the wall chimed, informing me of the changing of the hour. It snapped me out of my momentary shock and gave me the push to get up off the floor.

I did not want to explore the rest of the house. I did not want to go to the kitchen to see it bare, without any trace of Diane. I did not want to go upstairs to my godson's room and find an empty room that was void of everything but a single bed and a dresser. I did not want to go upstairs to Diane and Remus's room and find only one side of the bedding disturbed by an occupant that was still not out of the clear.

Instead, I all but ran out of my house and to Augusta's. I had never realized until that day how far Augusta's house actually was from ours. I had always thought it was a relatively short distance, but I could not get there quick enough that day.

She opened the door before I even had a chance to knock on it. I threw my arms around her, too happy to be in the presence of a familiar face to care about anything else. She returned my hug and did not comment about the tears that were staining the shoulder of her long green dress.

It took me a few minutes to gather my wits before she ushered me farther into the house and shut the door behind me.

"I have a surprise for you, Sirius," she said to me.

I finally let go of Augusta and she stepped back, allowing me clear view of the occupants of her lounge. I ignored the fact that Arthur and Molly Weasley and their children were in there. I also ignored the fact that David, Jeanette, Hermione, and Neville were in there. All I cared about at that moment in time was the dark haired, green eyed toddler that sat in the lap of the pearly blue eyed, honey brown haired woman I had come to call my sister-in-law for all intents and purposes.

If I had ran to Augusta's house, it was nothing compared to the movement I made to get to the toddler and woman. I threw my arms around them both, unable to comprehend the fact that Harry and Diane were in my arms.

The room was silent as Diane, Harry, and I held onto one another as if our lives depended on it. Looking back, I would say our lives did indeed depend on it. I do not think any of us actually realized we were actually back together—that it was not a harsh dream our subconscious minds had came up with.

After a few minutes I released my hold on Diane and Harry, and sat down properly on the sofa beside of them. Diane transferred Harry to my lap.

"Padfoot!"

I had waited two long and painful weeks to hear my godson utter that one word.

"Aunt Dee says Uncle Moony's coming home soon."

"Aunt Dee was right, Harry. Uncle Moony's coming home as soon as the grownups can get him back."

My answer seemed to reassure the five-year-old Harry. I pressed him closer to my chest, afraid that if I loosened my hold on him, he would disappear. I looked up at the other occupants of the lounge and acknowledged them for the first time. I purposefully kept my gaze away from Arthur. With Harry in my lap, I did not want to do anything that could potentially put him in harm's way.

"We'll get him back, Sirius," Augusta assured me much like I had assured Harry seconds prior. "Just like we got you back."

I nodded my head.

"I know we will," I replied. I looked down at my godson in my lap before looking back at her. "Remus made a promise five years ago to James and Lily the same day I did. He isn't Harry's godfather because of his condition, but James and Lily still made Remus promise to take care of Harry if anything happened to them. Remus Lupin has never broken a promise in his life. He's not about to break one to James and Lily."

I knew in my heart that my words were true: Remus would never break a promise to James and Lily. One way or another, Remus was going to be released soon and come back to us and raise Harry alongside Diane and me. Remus was going to get his life back, and I was going to make sure he did.

I knew Professor Dumbledore was talking to Ted and doing everything in his power to get Remus out of Azkaban and back home. I assumed Ted had already owled Andromeda and informed her of the situation her favorite cousin had gotten himself into. I knew between the three of them out there and those that were in Augusta's lounge with me that we were going to figure this out. We were going to get Remus back.

It was then that I was informed of the next step in Professor Dumbledore's plan. The step was more difficult than avoiding the Veritaserum and dodging Amos Diggory's questions like bludgers.

We waited.

* * *

**A/N: Did I mention that this is the longest chapter? (Or at least I'm pretty sure it is...)  
**

** I had not realized that I never described Diane. I originally did in the first chapter, but I must have deleted that by the time I posted it. Oops. So here's how I picture her:**

**Diane is not a tall woman, but she is not short either. Her hair is honey colored (more brown that blonde, though), shoulder length, and thick. She had pearly blue eyes (which I did mention in Chapter 12) and is a slender lady. **

**I apologize about not describing her earlier. I just assumed I already had. Awh, well, you know what they say about assumptions. If your mental picture of Diane is different, then just go with it. I often find myself picturing someone without any regards to their descriptions. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and please review.  
**


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm back! Wahoo! I finally graduated from high school, which gave me the time to work on this; however, I still don't own anything you recognize.  
**

When I was younger and believed everything my pureblooded parents told me, I used to imagine myself married to a pretty pureblooded witch with a pampered son by the time I was twenty-five. I thought I would be living at Number 12 Grimmauld Place with Kreacher serving me as his rightful master. I assumed I would be working at some high-up ministry job with power and authority others were envious of.

Never had I fathomed my life would end up as it did. I had never pictured myself a bachelor living with my werewolf best friend and his muggle-born wife, let alone raising a Potter's son. I never considered the possibility I would befriend James Potter and become Mr. and Mrs. Potter's surrogate son.

Yet, here I was sitting in Augusta Longbottom's lounge holding the last remaining Potter in my arms and surrounded by the biggest family of pureblood traitors. The atmosphere was thick with anxiety. Every noise caused the occupants of that room to jump and look toward it expectantly. We were on the edge of our seats awaiting Dumbledore's word.

I am unsure of the exact span of time that passed. It could have been mere hours. It could have been a couple of days. It felt like years. Nobody spoke a word. Verbal conversation was unnecessary. A few times I would meet Augusta's eyes from across the room or place my hand comfortingly on Diane's knee beside me; that was more than enough communication.

Darkness fell that evening slower than it ever had before. As the last of the sun's rays slowly faded away, each of us realized the waiting step in Professor Dumbledore's plans was lengthier than any of us had anticipated. We waited in the dark half-moon lit room for three long hours before a low rumbling sound cut through the eerie silenced that had enveloped us many hours prior.

At first, I had assumed the rumble was from a stray muggle vehicle whose operator had gotten lost. When the volume of the rumble steadily increased, it became apparent that it was indeed not caused by a muggle. I looked over at Diane. Her eyes met mine. We both knew that the rumble was heading straight for us. What we did not know, though, was whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

I broke eye contact with Diane and looked toward the window. At some point in the preceding few seconds, Arthur had gotten up from his seat at sofa, crossed the room to the window, and pulled back the curtains. I looked passed him to see a single beam of light growing larger and larger from the horizon. The wheels in my mind began to turn; I should know exactly what that is. This mysterious object seemed uncannily familiar to me, but I just could not place why that was.

It was only a few minutes later, when the mysterious beam of light skidded to a stop in front of Augusta's house that I realized what it was: my old motorcycle. I had bought that thing the summer I had moved in with the Potter's and, with the help of James's uncle, charmed it to fly. I had not seen it since the day before Lily and James were killed when I had flown it to Peter's hideout.

But there it was in its glory parked on the side of the road in front of Augusta's house with an oversized familiar man climbing off it. Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys and ground at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, looked no different than he had the last time I saw him on that fateful Halloween night four years ago.

Before I even realized Hagrid had moved from beside the motorcycle, there was a knock on the door that shook the entire house. Augusta immediately jumped up and opened the door.

"Hagrid, do come in," Augusta stepped back to allow Hagrid to pass.

Hagrid ducked inside.

"Thank ye, Mrs. Longbottom."

Augusta nodded in recognition and conjured a large chair for Hagrid to sit down in. After Hagrid sat, he addressed everyone in the lounge.

"Profess'r Dumbledore an' Ted went to the Ministry this mornin'."

I cannot convey the amount of relief that flooded through my body. If Professor Dumbledore was at the Ministry with Ted…

"They're meetin' with a witch named Umbridge."

Umbridge. Umbridge. Why did that sound familiar?

"Dolores Umbridge?" Diane asked Hagrid. Apparently she was experiencing the same familiarity I was.

Hagird nodded. Diane looked over at me.

"She was at Hogwarts with us. I think we were in our third or fourth year when she graduated."

Diane's expression clearly reads that I should know what she's talking about. I search my mind, but once again, I come up blank.

"How do you not remember her, Sirius?" she asks me exasperated. "You and James flooded the Slytherin common room while she was prefect. She chased you two up three flights of stairs and would have caught you two had James not had the brilliant idea to duck into the kitchens."

Oh! That's why she is so familiar. Dolores Umbridge was the prefect who was in line to be head girl before that prank. She lost credibility because of James and me, and I can't say that I feel guilty about that.

"Hopefully she doesn't hold grudges," I said to Diane, knowing my words were in vain.

"More like, hopefully she doesn't realize Remus is in any way connected to the infamous Marauders who wrecked havoc on the school during the 1970s."

I inclined my head at the exact second the fire in Augusta's fireplace turned an emerald shade of green. To say my heart stopped beating in the confines of my ribcage would be an understatement. We all waited—on the front side of anxious—for someone to appear. The next few seconds passed ever so slowly. I would have sworn the new millennium, which was still fifteen years away, had already come to be. Twice. That is how long those next few seconds felt like, and then my best friend since that long awaited train ride on 1 September 1971 stumbled out of the fire.

Any other time I would have commented on his lack of coordination, as he always did for me, but in that moment, it did not matter that it was the first time I had ever witnessed him awkwardly using the floo network. This was my best friend who had spent the last couple of weeks in literal hell on Earth. I could not get to him fast enough, and neither could Diane.

I think the entire room was startled beyond belief as they witnessed two twenty-five year olds, one holding a five year old, barrel toward the newcomer and crash into him with enough force that would have shaken some valuables off the mantle above Augusta's fireplace if she had not whipped out her wand in time. One of my arms was gripping Remus as hard as I could as the other was holding Harry haphazardly. Diane was in the same predicament. I guess she realized that I was incapable of adequately holding Harry on my own.

I vaguely noted that the orange flames had turned emerald green two more times and had produced Professor Dumbledore and Ted Tonks. I did not care. Remus John Lupin, my best friend and fellow Marauder, was safe.

It was another five minutes or so before any of us let go of Remus. When we did, Diane immediately ran to my cousin and gave him the tightest hug in the world. Poor Ted. He had not expected Diane's sudden movement of appreciation, but after a few seconds of surprise, he hugged her back. Diane was muttering nonsense words of thanks. I am pretty sure not even she knew what she was exactly saying. Ted just patted her on her back and graciously replied to whatever sentence he happened to comprehend.

As Diane gripped Ted, I stepped back and looked over Remus. He was holding Harry, as both Diane and I had gladly passed him to. I noticed his greying hair was even greyer than it had been the last time I had seen him. A fresh bout of scars covered his face, and I refused to flinch at the additions because I knew most of them would fade out in a few days time. His amber colored eyes were tired, but as his gaze moved from Harry to me and back again, the life was being restored to him. I offered him the best smile I could muster before I turned my attention to Professor Dumbledore.

I offered him my right hand for a handshake. Professor Dumbledore accepted it, as his right hand tightly gripped mine. I met his blue eyes through his half-moon glasses.

"I owe you everything once again, Albus," I told him sincerely. Not only was I repeating the words I had spoken the night James and Lily had died shortly after I was informed that Peter had tried to frame me, but I was also rarely referring to him by his first name. "You got Mo—I mean, Remus out of this horrible predicament and back to his home where his wife, his best friend, and his nephew in all ways but blood are."

Professor Dumbledore looked at me kindly and replied, "It was all thanks to Ted, Sirius. I did nothing more than just contact him."

Although I know Professor Dumbledore had indeed done more than he was leading me to believe, I nodded in acknowledgement as I let go of his hand. Diane had stopped hugging Ted by then and had returned to Remus's side. Remus through his free arm around his wife and pulled her to him. I stepped up to Ted, offering him my hand for a handshake as I had done for Professor Dumbledore. Ted took it.

"Dear cousin, on my honour as a wizard and as a Black, I am in your debt."

Ted may not be used to such formalities, judging by the look of surprise on his face, but I was required to speak them. This man that stood in front of me had married my favorite cousin, Andromeda, who was a Black by birth. Even though she was expelled from the family because of her marriage, I could not deny her or her family the formalities due them.

He had been originally astonished by my words, but he quickly recovered.

"You would have done the same for me, Sirius," Ted replied as he let go of my hand.

I nodded in agreement.

"That I would have."

My conversation with Ted would have continued, had Professor Dumbledore not interrupted us when he addressed everyone in the room.

"Today an unintentional wrong has been righted. I daresay a round of firewhiskey would not be too much for a toast."

He waved his hand, performing a small feat of wandless magic, and a glass appeared in each of the adults' hands. A second wave later, the glasses were filled with firewhiskey.

"I would like to split this three ways. First, to Ted Tonks for being exceptionally adept at his job. To Remus Lupin for believing in the light even in the darkest night, and finally to everyone in here for proving that family goes far beyond blood."

I raised my glass, clinking it to the glasses in the hands of Ted, Professor Dumbledore, Diane, and Remus. The liquid burnt on the way down; I reveled in the familiar feeling.

"Mr. Weasley, may I have a word with you?" Professor Dumbledore requested.

Arthur, to his credit, was not in the bit surprised. He stood up.

"Actually, Professor, if you don't mind, I would like to speak with him," I said.

Professor Dumbledore looked at me curiously. I already knew the speech he was going to give Arthur. If I was correct, it would be extremely similar to the one he had given me that full moon night after I had told Snape how to get passed the Whomping Willow. Professor Dumbledore seemed to realize what I was thinking, not that it was a surprise. He nodded.

Arthur and I walked into the semi-private kitchen. He took a seat at Augusta's circular table. I sat down in front of him. I was ready to tell Arthur what I really thought—that it was because of his cowardice that my best friend, myself, and my family had suffered. I opened my mouth to let my anger out that had built up over the past couple of weeks, because he was the one person who deserved it.

"I understand."

Arthur was not the only person at that table who was surprised at the words that had escaped from my mouth. I was flabbergasted. Why had I said that? That was not what I had meant to say.

There was a window just above Arthur's shoulder that opened up to the lounge. Through it, I could see Remus animatedly talking to Molly and Augusta as Diane tapped a toy with her wand at the request, or so I assume, of Harry and Ron.

Then it hit me: what would I do to protect Harry? Anything.

My gaze rested upon Arthur. He had seven children, five of whom were not of Hogwarts age yet. If I would do anything for Harry, I could only imagine what Arthur would do for his seven kids.

I sighed.

"You wanted to protect your kids. That morning, you didn't see Remus who was a friend and would do anything to keep your kids safe because that's his nature. You saw a werewolf—a blood hungry werewolf who was a threat to your kids. I understand, Arthur, why you reacted the way you did. I don't blame you for that. I just think your actions left a bit to be desired."

Arthur pulled his glasses off his face and laid them down on the table. He pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a long time since I had seen someone so young look so prematurely old and tired.

"I saw your house that morning, Sirius. Before I even realized what exactly it was, my thoughts were not on my wife and my kids; they were on you and Remus and Diane and Harry. Harry is such a good friend to my kids, Ron especially, and I've loved him as my own since he first took Ron and Ginny's hands and led them up your stairs to play wizard's chess. You and Remus and Diane—you've made it past all odds. You lost your best friends and still raised their son. You fought alongside Fabian and Gideon and the rest of the Order members to get rid of You-Know-Who. You took to our family quicker than even the Lovegoods of the Longbottoms did, even knowing our blood-traitor status. You, of all people, Sirius, are the heir to the Noble and Most Famous House of Black, and yet you overlooked everything for Harry's happiness."

Arthur stopped talking. I did not know what to say in response, but he was not waiting for me to reply. He, instead, decided to say something else.

"When I saw Remus lying on that floor—when I realized just what he was—everything got turned upside down. I've seen what werewolves do to families, Sirius. I've seen the hurt and the pain. I've _lived_ through it. I didn't want my family to have to experience that. I didn't want Harry or Diane or you to get hurt because of it. I realize now that Remus is not the werewolves I knew. He's different, but by now, I don't know how I can ever apologize and make it up to you guys, Remus especially."

"You just did."

I do not know the exact second Remus had walked into the kitchen. I do not know how much he heard, whether he just heard the latter part of Arthur's spill or the entire thing. Remus did not let onto how much he had heard, either.

Arthur spun around quickly in his chair. I could not see his face, but I assumed it was of pure surprise and probably a bit of embarrassment (if the reddening of his ears was any indication.) Remus's expression was of pure forgiveness and hope for friendship.

Arthur's next move was as unexpected as my first words to him were. He stood up from his chair and crossed the room to Remus before throwing his arms around Remus. Apologies were passed from Arthur to Remus.

Harry entered the kitchen cautiously, threw one toddler-like confused look at Remus and Arthur, and ran up to me.

"Uncle Padfoot! Mr. Tonks says he wants to take us to the quidditch world cup next year!"

I could see the excitement in my godson's eyes before I glanced up at Ted, who had just entered the kitchen. He had apparently followed Harry at a much slower pace.

"I can get the tickets real cheap, Sirius," Ted explained, "and it's about time Dromeda and I give something to our family."

"But you've already done so much, Ted," I replied, nodding toward Remus who was still exchanging apologies with Arthur.

Ted shrugged.

"It'll give us a chance to bond. Also, you should meet your cousin again. You haven't seen her since she was a baby. She's gotten so big."

I smiled at my vague memory of little Nymphadora Tonks. She was an energetic baby changing the color of her hair from bubblegum pink to vibrant blue to electric green and back again. I remember thinking she was the prettiest baby born into the Black family (although, honestly, that was not saying much.)

"She's in Hogwarts now, isn't she?" I asked.

Ted nodded.

"She's in her second year. Hufflepuff—just like her old man."

I saw the pride in Ted's eyes, and I had to smile myself.

"Your daughter's a second year, you say?" Molly asked.

I looked over at her. I had not realized she had even entered the kitchen before she had spoken.

"You heard correctly, Molly."

"That's the same year as our Charlie."

"You don't say?" Ted asked astonished. "Dora's got a friend named Charlie. In fact, I think it'd be your son."

"I do believe you are correct," Molly agreed as the two adults laughed.

By that time, Arthur and Remus had finally stopped apologizing to each other. Arthur walked over to Molly and wrapped his arm around her while Remus sat down in Arthur's vacated chair at the table.

"Are you alright, Uncle Moony?" Harry asked as he climbed onto his lap.

Remus nodded, his face was tired once again.

"I just really hate Halloween, Harry."

* * *

**A/N: I've finally wrapped up the Remus-problem. Go me! The next chapters will deal with one of the two life-changing events that I have planned for this story. I'm really excited to get to working on it. I do apologize for how long it took for me to get this chapter written; I'm hoping that I will get the next chapter written a whole lot quicker.**

**As always, thanks for reading and please review.  
**


	28. Chapter 28

**I own nothing you recognize.**

"Padfoot, can you get the door?"

I did not verbally answer Remus as I obliged. I got up from the kitchen table, laying the Daily _Prophet_ with the date of 4 April 1986 down for Remus to snatch.

"Sirius!" Jeannette immediately greeted me before I had completely opened the door. "We cannot thank you enough for watching Hermione for us."

I stepped back to let the family of three in. Hermione was hanging onto David's leg. I sent David an amused look. He returned it with ease.

"It's no problem, really," I replied.

I reached to take the small bag from David's hand. He gladly handed it over and picked up Hermione. Although she was a few months short of her seventh birthday, she was small for her age, and while she was ten months Harry's senior, she was much smaller than Harry was.

"We've set up the spare bedroom especially for her. Harry's been looking forward to having someone his own age under the same roof for a little while."

David and Jeannette laughed.

"Hermione's the same way," David revealed. "We almost took her to Australia with us, but it's more of an adult retreat. She would not have had any fun."

"It's understandable," I replied. "I've been to many adult retreats in my childhood, and each time I could have thrown myself off the roof out of boredom."

Memories of the pureblood parties my parents forced me to go to as a young child flooded my mind. I shivered at one particularly dreadful event. My great-aunt Cassiopeia spent the entire time pinching my cheeks and remarking on what a handsome young fellow I was growing into while my equally pompous grandmother tried to suit me up with either Elladora Longbottom or Isla Crouch. I was thirteen at the time, and both Elladora and Isla were two years my senior. They were dreadful girls. Both purebloods, of course, and my fourth cousins so naturally they were just the type of girls my grandmother dreamed I would marry. Elladora was probably less dreadful than Isla; at least the traces of inbred were not so evident on Elladora's young face. If I recall correctly, I dropped a couple of dungbombs under my great-aunt Cassiopeia's chair during tea and made my escape to the grand garden outside. It had taken my _dear_ parents the better part of two hours to discover my hiding place on the tallest branch of an apple tree.

I did not tell my story to David and Jeannette. The two did not need to know the intricate, and rather disturbing, details of the pureblood society.

"She won't be any problem. I can assure you of that," Jeannette said on the subject of Hermione.

"I'm not too worried about her misbehaving," I told Jeannette. "I'm sure whatever she throws at us, Harry has already beaten her to it."

David and Jeannette laughed.

"Uncle Padfoot?"

Speaking of Harry, he had appeared at the top landing of the stairs. I glanced over my shoulder at him.

"Guess who's here, Harry."

Harry's almond shaped green eyes traveled passed my form and rested upon our new house guest.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed before launching himself down the stairs via the banister.

"Not the banister, Harry!" I mildly scolded. "Your aunt Dee will have my head if she knows I let you do that!"

"Too right I will," Diane said, her voice full of disapproval.

I turned around at her, a guilty expression simultaneously morphing onto my face. I shot her an uneasy smirk that she responded with a look of scorn. Behind her, Remus's face was wearing a wide smile; he was getting amusement out of the fact that Diane was once again harping on me for something instead of him.

Harry had, by that time, reached David and Hermione. Hermione motioned for David to put her on the floor. He obeyed. Hermione and Harry embraced in a friendly hug.

"I assume you two are anxious to get on your trip," Diane said. "You needn't to worry about Hermione. We'll take good care of her."

David bent down to give his daughter a hug. Jeannette mirrored his actions. Harry stepped back as Hermione was embraced by her young parents.

"You be good for Sirius, Remus, and Diane," David said to Hermione.

"We'll miss you, Squish," Jeannette murmured, "but we'll be back before you know it."

David kissed his daughter's cheek and stood up. Jeannette mimicked him. They made to the door.

"We love you, Squish," David told her.

Hermione smiled back at her parents.

"I love you, Daddy and Mummy."

David and Jeannette bade us farewell and closed the door behind them.

"Breakfast is ready," Diane announced. "Your mum told me pancakes and bacon were your favorite, Hermione, so I cooked some especially for you."

Hermione shot Diane one of those grins that only children are capable of producing. I could see Diane melting under Hermione's gaze. It was bad enough that Harry had all of us wrapped around his pinky finger, but now Hermione did as well.

I followed the two children into the kitchen. Diane was levitating the last plate of breakfast, the toast, to the table while Remus was pouring a glass of pumpkin juice. Harry climbed into his normal chair to the left of Remus, and Hermione took the one next to him. I sat down between Hermione and Diane.

"It looks delicious, Diane," I complimented her.

"Why are you surprised, Sirius? I've cooked you breakfast for the better part of the last four and a half years!"

I barked out a laugh, dipping a scoop of eggs into Hermione's plate before doing the same in mine.

"It's not that I'm surprised, Diane," I replied. "It's that I'm amazed your cooking gets better and better every morning."

A blush tickled Diane's fair skinned cheeks.

"You're just buttering me up so you can get out of cleaning the upstairs toilet."

I shrugged in response, neither confirming nor denying Diane's accusation. Lately, instead of threatening Remus or myself with cleaning the kitchen, she had turned to threatening us with cleaning the loos. Of course, that threat was bestowed upon me after Remus and I decided to rearrange the lounge furniture without Diane's knowing. That would not have been a problem, had I not also cast a spell that would prevent Diane from realizing the difference. It had taken her all of ten minutes and three failed attempts to sit on the sofa to realize that not all was as she could see. A quick spell on her part reversed my own and saddled me with loo duties for a month. Remus, on the other hand, was given the task of cleaning up after her potions without the use of magic. I personally think I was given the worse end of the deal; Remus would disagree.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Remus asked, saving me from being further analyzed and accused by Diane.

"I thought Sirius might like to take Harry and Hermione flying," Diane replied.

"Flying!" Harry exclaimed enthusiastically, waving his spoon around as if it was a broomstick.

Remus gently grabbed Harry's hand to prevent the boy from throwing anymore of his breakfast on the werewolf. Harry smiled brightly up at Remus.

"We know Harry's response," I noted in amusement as Remus picked a piece of egg from his hair.

Diane laughed.

"What about you, Hermione?" I asked our young house guest. "Would you like to go flying today?"

Hermione's confused gaze rested upon me.

"Flying?" she repeated.

"Yeah, on broomsticks!" Harry exclaimed once again.

That seemed to confuse Hermione that much more. Remus came to the rescue. He grabbed the latest edition of _Quidditch Weekly_ from the counter behind him and opened it for Hermione to look at. A picture of the Holyhead Harpies' latest recruit, the young Gwenog Jones, sending a bludger toward some random opponent with the mere swing of her bat played for Hermione to watch. Hermione looked apprehensive.

"Don't worry, Hermione, we won't be using those," Remus said, sensing her unease. "We'll just be flying."

"What are those?" she asked curiously.

"That ball is a bludger; there are two of those in the game of quidditch," I explained, for once being more adept at a subject than Remus was. "The girl is a beater; there are also two of those in the game. Their job is to hit around those bludgers with a bat either towards their opponent or away from their teammates. That red ball you see flying right… there—" I pointed out the correct flying ball, "is a quaffle. There are three players, called chasers, that throw that ball around and try to get it through one of those three golden hoops. Each successful shot is worth ten points."

I was surprised Hermione was still listening to me ramble on about quidditch. I was equally surprised that Harry was actually enamored by the subject as well.

"Sounds easy enough, right?" I asked.

Hermione hesitantly nodded.

"Well, the problem is that those three goals are protect by a player called the keeper. His job, or her job, is to keep the quaffle out of those goals. If you look closely enough, you will see a flash of gold. Right… there."

I pointed out the quick flash of golden color and waited until I was certain Hermione had seen it.

"That's the golden snitch. The final player on a quidditch team is probably the most important player of them all: the seeker. His job, or her job, is to catch that snitch before the other team does. Catching it awards the seeker's team one-hundred fifty points, and that, my dear, Hermione, is the magical game of quidditch."

"Quidditch?" Hermione repeated, sounding a bit impressed.

I nodded.

"You can play it at Hogwarts," I told her, "when you go in a few years, but alas, you must be at least a second year."

"Did you play, Mr. Black?" Hermione asked.

I laughed.

"You can call me Padfoot, Hermione," I told her, "and yes, I played. I was a beater. Harry's father, James, played as well."

"My dad played?" Harry asked.

I nodded. Remus and I had not told Harry much about James's days of quidditch. We spoke mostly of the minor pranks the Marauders played and his attraction to Lily. Harry was too active to sit down for the amount of time necessary to talk about James's quidditch days.

"He was a chaser," I told him. "He and I made the team our second year."

Harry was amazed by this news.

"You're forgetting our fifth year, Sirius," Remus interrupted me. "James played seeker that year because Adrian got himself sick, and James could only find a decent chaser. Rather than suffer the loss of the quidditch cup to Slytherin, James played seeker."

I can still remember the first time James played seeker in a quidditch game. It was against Hufflepuff, who had a somewhat decent team. James had spent the first half of the match trying to catch the quaffle before realizing he was supposed to be looking for the snitch. Jocelyn Finwick, the Hufflepuff seeker, was about five seconds away from the snitch when James dove his broom at a breakneck speed and jumped off it at the last second to successfully steal the snitch and the victory from Hufflepuff's hands. He hit the ground after a fifty foot fall, breaking his right arm. It had certainly earned him some sympathy from Lily and half of Honeydukes' stock of chocolate; though, Remus took care of the chocolate for him. Even with James playing seeker, Gryffindor secured the Quidditch Cup that year.

"I think that's when Lily began to change her mind about James," Diane said.

"And then James and this goof had that run-in with Snape after the O.W.L.s," Remus added.

"What run-in?" Harry asked Remus innocently.

If looks could kill, I would have been planning yet another funeral for one of my best friends. Remus seemed to immediately realize his slip up, as he glanced over at me for help. Neither of us or Diane wanted Harry to know of the relationship between his dad and his future potions teacher just yet.

"Nothing, Harry, your father was just being James and Snape was just being Snape," I replied. "Besides, that story won't get us up in the air."

I guess I should have felt guilty, but I knew that mentioning flying would cause Harry to forget about everything but flying.

"Do you know what else won't get you in the air?" Diane asked. "These dirty dishes. Why don't you and Remus go on up and get Harry and Hermione ready while I tidy up down here."

Diane did not need to tell Remus or me twice. We were up from the table and on the second floor landing with a child in each of our arms before Diane had finished talking. Remus took Herimone into the room we had set up for her as I took Harry to his. I laid out the clothing appropriate for flying and stepped outside, trusting Harry to dress himself. Remus was already standing outside of Hermione's door.

"Lily would never forget either of us if we highlighted the worst of Lily and James's relationship," I told Remus.

Remus nodded.

"She'd want Harry to understand more of life before he understood just why James is an "arrogant toerag" as she liked to describe him."

I laughed at Remus's words.

"What are you and Diane going to do while I take Harry and Hermione flying?"

"We told Molly we'd pick up something for the twins' birthday party," Remus replied.

I nodded. That made perfect sense. The twins had turned eight three days prior on a Tuesday. Molly and Diane were planning a birthday party on Saturday night. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the Weasley twins had an uncanny ability to know everything you did not want them to know.

"I'm going to drop in on Zonko's and see what sort of products the twins might enjoy—with Molly and Arthur's approval, of course."

Remus and Arthur were getting along better than anyone would have imagined following the events of the Halloween prior. Remus frequently engaged Arthur in muggle-related conversations in which Remus was more than happy to answer any of Arthur's questions. Remus's mum was muggleborn, and Remus used his knowledge of muggle life to forge a friendship with Arthur that would hopefully stand the test of time.

"I doubt Molly or Arthur will agree to anything Zonko related," I replied.

Remus inclined his head.

"I would also agree, but the more, er, _safe_ joke products they use, the less questionable ones they use."

I could hear Remus struggle to use the word 'safe' in reference to the twins. Fred and George had taken to experimenting with joke products as of late, much to the amusement of Remus and myself and the worry of Molly and Arthur. After a couple of mishaps, their testing was mostly harmless, thanks to a spell Arthur and I cast upon their room at the Burrow.

"Remus? Sirius? Are you all done up there yet? If we don't hurry and leave, it'll be too hot for the children to fly," Diane called up the stairs.

Hermione and Harry appeared in their respective doorways a fraction of a second later.

"All ready?" Remus asked the children.

Hermione nodded in response. Harry took Hermione's hand and lead her to the top of the staircase. He climbed upon the banister, motioning for Hermione to follow his lead. She hesitated for half a second before climbing on the banister behind him. Before Remus or I could react, the two children slid down the banister. Their high-pitched laughter filled the air as they landed without a scratch or bump on the ground floor.

"Sirius Orion Black! Remus John Lupin! Do either of you two fully grown wizards have any sense at all about you? Harry and Hermione could have been hurt!" Diane yelled up the stairs at us.

I looked at Remus. He held the same expression of guilt that I felt upon my face. We slowly made our way down the stairs. Harry and Hermione were still giggling; though, this time they were finding amusement in Remus and me being scolded by Diane.

"They weren't, dear," Remus replied cautiously, hoping to calm his wife.

"Because I was here to catch them!" Diane exploded.

I took half a step back, almost laughing as Remus had the same idea.

"One of you," she pointed the index finger of her left hand in Remus's direction and then in mine. I noted her right hand was hovering over the wand in her pocket. "I don't care which, but one of you had better cast safety charms on that banister or both of you will be cleaning the loos until Harry goes to Hogwarts!"

Neither Remus nor myself wasted anytime in heeding her demands. I threw every safety spell I could think of on that banister, while Remus threw some I was not aware of. When we were finished, we pocketed our wands and turned back to Diane. She was noticeably calmer.

"Now, Remus, you take Hermione's hand, and, Sirius, you get Harry's hand," Diane commanded, "and let's go to Hogsmeade."

* * *

**A/N: It's been a while since I've written a purely happy chapter in this. I think I like this lighter tone. I'm sorry that I didn't get this chapter up sooner, but summer got the best of me, I guess. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review.  
**


	29. Chapter 29

**I own nothing you recognize.**

Two weeks flew by. Hermione was like a second daughter that Remus, Diane, and I were raising. She fit in perfectly. Harry enjoyed having a sister, as well.

Remus, Diane, and I had tried to teach Harry and Hermione the basics in mathematics and writing since taking Hermione in. That was when we first realized our flaw in raising Harry. We did not have an educational plan for Harry prior to Hogwarts. We could not allow him to attend muggle primary school. With a child as magical as Harry, the muggles would eventually find out something was different with him. We could not risk exposing magic.

We knew that eventually one of us would have to teach Harry, but for some reason or the other, we were each unable to do so. Diane was spending more and more time working with her potions, and Remus was preoccupied with his job at the book store. Neither of those two could teach Harry. Merlin knows I could not teach Harry. My own pureblood lessons as a child would be the only thing I would have to follow, and Harry did not need _those_ lessons.

"_Calligraphy is not a dying art, young Mister Black," my old pureblood instructor, whose name I refused to remember. "You must learn it and use it well. To do that, you must practice. Now, re-write this chapter."_

_My young self had barely resisted the urge to outright refuse. I guess I realized that I did not need the added whippings to the ones I was already going to get for my less than perfect script. The instructor stood over my right shoulder, watching every stroke I made with the expensive quill. He flicked his wrist, and the next thing I felt was a white hot searing pain on my arm. _

_I gasped and looked at what I had written. It was flawless, perfect, or so I thought. _

"_Mind your 'R's, Mister Black," the instructor snapped. "It will not do you well to be hasty."_

_I grumbled under my breath. I wanted nothing more than to shove the quill right up his—_

"_No! No! No!" the instructor cut through my thoughts. "Start from the beginning. There is nothing you could possibly do to recover this poor attempt."_

_With another flick of his wrist, my parchment was wiped blank. I growled deep in my throat, not caring that he heard my displeasure this time. I had copied three pages of the fine print before he had commented on my sloppiness. _

"_Again, Mister Black! Again!" _

No, Harry certainly did not need me teaching him. I do not think I would be anything like my old instructor, but I did not want the memories to resurface.

"He's picking up quite a few things on his own," Remus had said when I voiced my concerns.

Remus and I were sitting the lounge watching Harry and Hermione play with the miniature quidditch set. Diane was working on a potion in the kitchen and had banned the four of us from the room.

"_It's for your safety," she had said as she ushered us out of the kitchen. "We don't need anyone accidentally knocking over these cauldrons and hurting themselves."_

"_Why did you look specifically at me when you said that?" I had asked her, feigning hurt. _

_It was true. Diane's eyes, which had been looking into Remus's, flickered to me. Diane had just laughed in response and put a locking spell on the door after she ushered us out. _

"But I do agree," Remus went on to say, knocking me out of my recollection. "If we want Harry to keep up with his classmates in Hogwarts, he is going to need to take lessons, but who is going to give them to him?"

I shrugged.

"Moony, I would, but I'd probably do more harm than good."

Remus nodded sympathetically. I had told him of the nicer stories of my pureblood lessons. I had never told anyone of the harsher ones, and I did not plan on it either.

"Who does Neville's schooling?" Remus asked.

"Probably Augusta."

"We could ask her if she would or Molly might, you know."

I sighed, realizing we had many choices for Harry's schooling.

"Why don't we just wait until the quaffle's in our possession before seriously considering anything," Remus suggested, using a quidditch analogy he knew I would appreciate. "We can discuss that with Diane later tonight."

I agreed with him, and the two of us spent the next couple of hours watching Hermione and Harry play with the miniature quidditch set. We took turns betting on Harry and Hermione; Remus seemed to favor Hermione more. Harry might have been James all over when it came to quidditch, but Hermione's inquisitive mind saw a lot of things that Harry overlooked. Needless to say, Hermione won as many games as Harry did, and I ended up owing Remus about fifteen galleons when it was all said and done.

"The kitchen is officially anyone's territory now," Diane announced around dinner time that evening.

She walked into the lounge and took a seat in the armchair across from Remus and me.

"Let me amend my previous comment: the kitchen is officially anyone's territory now _except_ Sirius's."

I threw up my hands in innocence.

"Why am I banned from the kitchen? Remus is the one who _scourgified_ your latest batch of Strengthening Solution."

Diane looked over at her husband. Surprisingly, she was not the least bit mad.

"You _scourgified_ my potion?" she asked, surprised. "I didn't even notice; I just thought I had bottled it all."

Remus and I exchanged a look that Diane either missed or ignored.

"Well, never mind that," Diane dismissed with the wave of her hand. "You, Sirius, are the same person who managed to destroy my kitchen by not only dragon fire, but also by 'natural' flooding."

I chuckled a bit at the reminders of my mishaps in Diane's kitchen. She had obviously referred to the dragon that Harry had once conjured under my watch, but the natural flooding was most certainly not entirely my fault. After all, it was Remus who challenged the idea that I could pull off an environmental charm. Diane should know a true Marauder cannot back down from a challenge, and so the result was a flood that reached all the way to the ceiling in Diane's precious kitchen.

I did not voice the fact that her husband was equally guilty as I knew it would not make a difference. I mean, Diane had just waved aside the fact that Remus had _scourgified_ her potion when she would have normally cursed the perpetrator into next year.

"What are you opinions about Harry's schooling?" I changed the subject.

"Did we not already discuss this?" she questioned.

Remus and I looked at each other and shook our heads. As far as I knew, we had not previously discussed this particular topic.

"I'm sure we did," Diane muttered to herself before addressing Remus and me. "I discussed this predicament with Molly a couple of months ago. She volunteered to teach Harry; she just wanted to wait until the springtime to start."

"The springtime?" Remus repeated. "Why?"

Diane shrugged her shoulders.

"She didn't say, and I didn't ask."

I was about to say something in response when there was a knock on our front door. I exchanged looks with Diane and Remus, wondering which one of us was going to answer it. Diane looked tired from her afternoon spent slaving over some potion, but Remus just looked lazy. He waved his hand and motioned for me to answer the door. I sighed and got up, exiting the lounge.

I threw open the door with more force than I had intended to and had never been so thankful to be wearing muggle clothing. There were two men standing in front of me wearing muggle law enforcement uniforms. They were either genuinely muggle or detail-oriented wizards.

"Good afternoon, Sir," the taller one greeted me. There was something in his voice that made me doubt his classification of 'good.' "My name is Officer Parks and this is my partner, Officer Logan. May I ask if you are Sirius Black or Remus Lupin?"

I hesitated. How did this man know my name?

"Sirius Black," I found myself answering. I figured if these two men were any real threat, they would already know who I was.

"Mister Black, I regret to inform you of the deaths of Dr. David Hugh Granger and Dr. Jeannette Rose Granger. They were claimed by a car accident after leaving the airport."

I am sure my expression was almost comical. My jaw dropped, mimicking the action of my stomach. My knees almost buckled, and I was forced to grab hold of the door frame to keep myself upright. Officer Parks started forward to catch me in case I fell.

"What kind of sick prank is this?" I managed to ask.

My brain was not working properly. These two people had to be jerking my wand. David and Jeannette could not be dead. It just was not possible. All of a sudden my mind left the time period of 1986 and entered the time period of 1981. I distantly realized that I had let go of the door frame and was falling to the ground.

* * *

"You are already one foot in the door, Mister Black, of becoming a dark wizard catcher!" Rufus Scrimgeour said, slapping me in the back in a friendly way. "You've passed the entrance exam with flying colours! In fact, you even got the questions about werewolves and animagi correct. Most don't, you know."

I had just smiled at him in response. Scrimgeour did not need to know that I was an unregistered animagus which happened to run around with a fully grown werewolf almost every full moon. As soon as I started official training, I would inform someone in the department that I was training to become an animagus along with James and Peter. This would solve our future problems of being unregistered animagi, and since it was not monitored by a Ministry official, the cover would work for James even though he was in hiding.

"Training officially starts this Monday," he went onto say, "which is in two days."

"Brilliant," I replied.

"Is there anything you are curious about? Any questions you may have that I can answer?"

I opened my mouth. There were thousands of questions I had, but I did not have the chance to ask any of them. The door to Scrimgeour's office slammed open, revealing Alastor Moody and the newly certified Auror, John Dawlish. Moody, my old colleague from the Order of the Phoenix, immediately turned his wand on me. Dawlish repeated Moody's action.

"What—?"

"Don't speak, Black!" Moody interrupted me. "If you come quietly, you won't suffer the dementor's kiss tonight."

"The dementor's kiss?" I repeated.

I had no clue what was going on. Was Moody confounded? Did he throw back one too many firewhiskeys at the Order's meeting the night before? Why would he threaten me with the dementor's kiss?

Moody flicked his wand. Ropes tied by arms together.

"Alastor! What is the meaning of this?" Scrimgeour cut in.

Moody looked over at Scrimgeour wildly.

"Voldemort's gone."

Why did Moody sound angry about that? Or wait—was that sadness written underneath his stony, Auror-worn face? Had Moody ever before been sad about anything? Had the man shed a single tear in his life? Did he even have tear ducts?

"G-Gone?" Scrimgeour repeated, as though he could not fathom the idea of a world without Voldemort.

"Yes, gone!" Moody said with vehement.

"How?"

The somber look on Moody's face intensified as he seemed to force himself to answer Scrimgeour's question.

"He found James and Lily."

"They were under the Fidelius Charm. That's impossible."

"Unless the secret keeper betrayed them," Moody replied with a pointed look in my direction.

My stomach hit the floor. My knees buckled, and I hit the floor painfully. I made no movement to get up. James had begged me to be his secret keeper. Lily had, too. They said they knew no one better for the job. We all knew Remus was too vulnerable with the position due to the fact Professor Dumbledore had him running around with other werewolves.

I was the logical choice. I would never betray them. That was the problem, though: I was the logical choice. Voldemort would know exactly who to go after, and although I did not fear dying in the place of my friends, I could not risk their safety. I expressed these concerns to James and Lily. They had reluctantly agreed that I was too obvious. I had tried to persuade them to use Professor Dumbledore, because he would be their best option. I should have tried harder.

It was the day of the charm, though, and we could not get a hold of Professor Dumbledore. Time was essential. Just when I was ready to tell James and Lily I would become their secret keeper no matter how obvious it was, there was a knock on their cottage door. It was Wormtail, and suddenly we had another option.

I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling as the spell was performed. I told myself that Wormtail had been away a lot on Professor Dumbledore's orders, but even then, I knew that idea was preposterous. With the exception of Remus and of Hagrid, who was were either a werewolf or a half-giant, Professor Dumbledore never sent anyone on a mission by themselves.

"Which seemed to have happened," Moody was saying.

He was undeterred by the fact that I had collapsed onto the ground.

"But you say he's gone?"

"He found the Potters. Killed James in the hallway; I suspect he was trying to buy some time for Lily to get away with Harry."

I felt bile rush up my throat. James Potter, my best friend for ten years and my brother in all senses of the word except blood, was dead. I vomited onto the well-worn rug I was lying on.

"Regrettably a vain attempt. Voldemort killed Lily in the nursery before turning his wand on the baby Harry."

Ice cold fear gripped at my heart.

"You-Know-Who killed an innocent baby?"

"Like he hasn't done worse, Rufus!" Moody exclaimed. "No, the spell backfired on him. He couldn't kill Harry Potter."

"Harry lived?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Moody asked gruffly before addressing me. "C'mon. There's a cell in Azkaban waiting for you!"

Dawlish flicked his wand in my direction, forcing me to my feet.

"W-Wait!" I cried out feebly. "I wasn't their secret keeper!"

"How dare you lie, Black! Everyone knows James chose you for that honor."

"I'm not lying! It was Peter, Peter Pettigrew. He was their secret keeper. It was going to be me, but I tried to convince them to use Professor Dumbledore. We couldn't find him, though, so we had to use Peter!"

"Quite a convincing story, Black," Moody replied.

"Ah, but it's more than a convincing story, Alastor," Professor Dumbledore said as he emerged from the emerald coloured fireplace. "It is the truth." Professor Dumbledore then looked over at me. "I told you to stay in my office, Sirius."

"I had to find Wormtail. I had to know if my suspicions were true."

"So you searched for Mister Pettigrew here?" Professor Dumbledore asked, his hand motioning to Scrimgeour's office.

I shook my head.

"I couldn't find Pettigrew at his place. I was halfway back to Hogwarts when I realized that I had this meeting with Scrimgeour."

"Send your Aurors to Peter Pettigrew's place, Scimgeour. They're looking for either a man or an animagus in the shape of a rat."

"Peter Pettigrew, an animagus? You must be out of your mind, Albus!" boomed Moody. "That boy couldn't transfigure a tea pot!"

"Forget that," Scrimgeour cut in. "I know the animagus register like the back of my hand. There is no Peter Pettigrew on it."

"I have information from a highly respected source who informs me that Peter Pettigrew is an illegal animagus," Professor Dumbledore said with a note of finality in his voice.

Moody seemed to believe Professor Dumbledore's word. He flicked his wand again, and the cords that were bound around my arms disappeared. I pushed myself up into a sitting position away from my vomit.

"Go to the Northern Headquarters," Professor Dumbledore said quietly to me. "Do not leave. I'll meet you there in about an hour."

* * *

"Padfoot! Padfoot! Wake up, Padfoot!"

Someone was dabbing my forehead with a wet and cool cloth while someone else was pacing the floor back and forth calling out my name. I blinked open my eyes.

"You gave us quite a scare, Sirius," Diane said as she dabbed the cloth above my right eye. "Those muggles helped us carry you inside, and then they left without saying a word."

I felt an urge to vomit but I fought against it.

"Where is Hermione?" I asked.

It appeared that neither Remus nor Diane knew why the muggles had come to our house.

"Upstairs with Harry. Why?" Diane answered.

"Neither of you know why the muggles visited, do you?" I had to ask to make sure.

Diane and Remus both shook their heads. I took a deep breath and tried to meet both of their eyes at least once before I spoke again.

"David and Jeannette are dead."

Since when did my voice lose all emotion? Diane and Remus stared at me for a long time after that as the horrible truth sunk in. Remus had abandoned his pacing and all but collapsed into one of the armchairs. Diane had excused herself from the room and rushed upstairs to Hermione. Remus and I exchanged looks before slowly following his wife.

We found her in the guest room we had set up for Hermione. She was holding the young girl in a tight hug, fighting against the tears that were gathering in her eyes.

"Uncle Padfoot?" Harry asked, having crossed the room to Remus and me seconds before. "Why is Aunt Dee crying?"

I exchanged another look with Remus. I could tell he was also remembering the time he and I had to explain James and Lily's deaths to Harry.

"Harry," Remus hesitated.

Diane had already told Hermione. I had not heard her exact words, but Hermione was now screeching and bawling into Diane's arms. Diane was doing her best to comfort her.

"Harry, Hermione's parents are gone," I explained, not sure how much he actually understood, "like your mum and dad gone."

I should not have doubted Harry's comprehension. He immediately knew what I meant and went over to Diane and Hermione.

"Hermione," he said.

The other girl stopped screeching long enough to look over at him.

"My mum and dad are gone, too."

Just like that, Hermione stopped bawling and threw herself into the small arms of Harry. I realized in that moment in time that it did not matter how old you were. If you had something in common with someone else, you knew how to help that person deal with it.

David and Jeannette's funeral was that following Monday. They were laid to rest in a small graveyard a little piece down the road from our houses. It was a small service attended by The Longbottoms, the Weasleys, and us. Harry held Hermione's hand the entire time.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review.  
**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

The beautiful white marble headstones shone brightly in the early May sun. The ground surrounding them was still bare of any grass, reminding each of us of what we had so recently lost.

Someone sniffled to my right, and I knew it was Diane. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Remus wrap his arms around his wife. Both of them stared at the words written on the headstones.

_David Hugh Granger_

_Born: 07 August 1955 – Died: 19 April 1986_

_Jeannette Rose Granger_

_Born: 29 June 1955 – Died: 19 April 1986_

We had chosen a simple inscription for their graves. They would have preferred the simplicity, or so I thought.

A small hand tightened in my own. It was Hermione's. I half-glanced down at her. She was biting her lips in attempt to hold the tears that welled up in her eyes back. Hermione had surprised us all at the pillar of strength she was. Yes, she had mourned her parents and cried herself to sleep every night since they had died, but it did not consume her young life. She still made an effort to ask Harry if he wanted to play another game of miniature quidditch or Remus if she could help on a crossword puzzle or Diane if she could help bake a batch of biscuits or myself if I would teach her to sketch. She was still the same Hermione who loved not only to learn but also to teach.

I do not know how long we stood there staring at those graves, but after a while we finally made our way back to the house, parting ways with the Weasleys and the Longbottoms with promises to visit later on. Upon entering the front door, Harry immediately bounded up the stairs to change out of the formal clothing Diane had wrestled him into hours prior. Hermione, however, had yet to let go of my hand and did not seem to want to either.

I wanted nothing more than to mimic my godson's actions and get myself out of the hideously uncomfortable muggle clothing I was wearing (because, of course, the Grangers were muggles, and we respectfully dressed the muggle way.) I did not, though. Instead, I led Hermione into the lounge and sat the two of us down on the sofa. I saw Diane and Remus disappear up the stairs; they were both hoping to change into normal clothing and get a few minutes of alone time.

My concern was neither Diane's nor Remus's nor Harry's actions; it was the little girl that sat on the sofa for me.

"What's on your mind, Hermione?" I asked her gently.

She looked up at me with the same sad expression that had graced her features for the past few days. I sighed, chewing at my bottom lip in a habit that I thought I had kicked years ago. Maybe it should be Remus sitting there trying to help Hermione instead of me. Or even Diane. I was not sure I could manage as well as I knew they could.

"I don't have anywhere to go."

Whatever it was that I had been expecting to hear from her mouth was definitely not that. I had not thought Hermione to be so mature at the tender age of six and a half. I mean what child worries about their home at that age?

_Hermione does_. I could have slapped myself for being so oblivious. Hermione had always been smart for her age. Had she not proved that when helping Remus on a crossword puzzle? Had she not proved that when she strategically beat Harry at quidditch?

* * *

We had discussed Hermione's predicament after the Grangers' deaths. Remus, Diane, and I had sat in the kitchen drinking firewhiskey in their honor while Hermione and Harry were asleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs; it had been impossible to tear those two apart even to sleep.

"What happens to Hermione?" Diane had asked as she poured herself and Remus another shot of firewhiskey.

Before Remus or I had a chance to respond, the fire in the lounge turned emerald green. Albus Dumbledore emerged from the fireplace a fraction of a second later.

"I apologize for my unexpected visit," he had immediately said, "but I daresay none of you are surprised."

"Nothing gets passed the Great Albus Dumbledore," I had responded, motioning for Professor Dumbledore to have a seat at the table with us. "We assumed you would be by eventually."

Diane offered Professor Dumbledore a glass of firewhiskey, which he accepted. Diane summoned a glass and poured the liquid into it. Professor Dumbledore drank his at a considerably slower pace than the rest of us did.

"You three are too kind in your evaluation of me," Professor Dumbledore returned. "Nonetheless, I think I can address the issue you are no doubt discussing."

"What issue?" Remus asked. He was not pretending to be daft; he, like Diane and myself, wanted Professor Dumbledore to be a bit more specific. Keep in mind, we were a bit intoxicated.

"Hermione's placement," Professor Dumbledore clarified. "I've been in touch with a few people since the accident, and I've examined their wills."

"You can do that?" Diane asked, astonished.

Professor Dumbledore's eye twinkled as he smiled.

"I find the non-magical community a bit easier to navigate than ours," he replied cryptically, "so naturally I was granted access to David and Jeannette's wills. I found that custody of Hermione goes first to the surviving spouse then to the nearest living relative in a case such as this."

That was a typical will, not that I had expected any differently from David and Jeannette.

"Who is Hermione's nearest relative?" Diane asked.

I could almost see the wheels turning inside Diane's mind. She was already devising a plan to obtain custody of Hermione. I knew she felt that she owed it to the Granger's, especially to Jeannette, to raise Hermione in the magical community that Hermione would one day thrive in.

"A second cousin living in the States," Professor Dumbledore replied.

There was a gasp from someone at the table. I think it might have been Diane, but I do not honestly recall who it was. I felt my jaw drop and saw Remus's do the same. Hermione could not be sent across the Atlantic Ocean to be raised in a strange world and lose the opportunity to attend the greatest wizarding school in the world, not to mention the chance to be a part of the magnificent magical community here.

Suddenly, my thoughts flashed to the same plans Diane was making.

"That's preposterous, Albus!" Remus exclaimed.

I think Remus surprised even himself then by questioning Professor Dumbledore as he did. Never before had Remus spoken out of turn to the man that had given Remus all the chances he deserved yet was initially denied.

Professor Dumbledore was not offended by Remus's outburst, though.

"I agree, Remus, and so I've come up with a solution."

"That is?" I found myself asking.

"Lobby for custody," he replied as though the answer was painfully obvious.

It was not obvious for the rest of us at the table.

Diane repeated Professor Dumbledore's words and then said, "In what world? Theirs? Or ours?"

"In Hermione's," Professor Dumbledore replied. "She rightfully belongs in the magical world. There is an old law that grants wizards and witches the right to legally adopt a muggleborn child without a family. It was written, as a precaution, to lessen the number of unnecessary muggles with knowledge to our world."

"That's cheating the system," Remus had muttered, but even he was sounding hopeful.

"It is," I agreed, "but none of us are willing to lose Hermione so soon after losing her parents."

Diane and Remus nodded their heads feverishly at that statement.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep her—provided, of course, that it is in her best interest."

"Am I safe to assume you two, Diane and Remus, agree with Sirius's statement?"

"You are," Remus answered as Diane nodded her head.

"Very well," Professor Dumbledore said. "We need to begin this process as soon as possible, and I daresay now is as good of a time as any."

There were no hesitations or second thoughts about our actions that night. Yes, we were cheating the system. No, we did not know if our actions were really what were best for Hermione. But we still had no regrets. I guess we were a bit selfish that night. We had known the Grangers only a few short years and yet we were lobbying for Hermione's custody.

Hermione belonged in our world, we kept telling ourselves. She a witch and did not deserve a muggle upbringing in a world that was an ocean away. I loved that intelligent little girl who had transformed from shy and introverted to inquisitive and outgoing right before my eyes. We all loved her. She was as much a part of our lives as Harry was. Sadly, she faced a future much like Harry had faced that last day in October of 1981—a future without a loving family. (Do not think I am insinuating that Hermione's family is anything like Vernon and Petunia Dursley are, because as far as I know, they are not. I just do not think there are any adults that would love Hermione more than Diane, Remus, and I would.)

Professor Dumbledore left late that night, promising he would get started on the next part of the process first thing the next day. Diane consented that she would stop by his office to help. Remus and I would have as well, but we could not. Remus had to work, and I had to watch Harry and Hermione.

I followed Remus and Diane up the stairs. Diane walked immediately to the upstairs loo while Remus made his way to his and Diane's bedroom. I did not go to my bedroom. Instead, I went to Harry's, were he and Hermione were sleeping.

The scene that laid out in front of me was the most serene I had seen since that fateful morning we received the news of David and Jeannette's deaths. On the red adorned bed was a sleeping Harry and a sleeping Hermione separated by a large stuffed lion Diane had given Harry for Christmas of the previous year.

There was not a trace of the day's horrors on either of their faces. I felt jealousy arise within me. Harry and Hermione had the ability to escape the world into the land of sleep without having to worry about nightmares plaguing their minds. For a few hours, they had a release. I knew I would not have that release—I doubted if I would even fall asleep at all.

"It's amazing how innocent they look with the day we've all just had," a quiet voice noted over my shoulder.

I glanced back, knowing I would see Remus. His expression was solemn and aged, for once, beyond the werewolf-induced aging.

"I keep asking myself if we're doing the right thing," Remus went onto confess.

I cannot express the surprise that coursed through me. It had been a while since I known Remus John Lupin to be unsure of something. In fact, the last time I could remember such an instance was that time Diane was poisoned and before that was James and Lily's deaths.

Unlike Remus, I did not have those insecurities. Like I previously said, I think I was a bit selfish.

"We _are_ doing the right thing," I had assured him.

Remus gave me a Professor Dumbledore-like inquisitive stare.

"Is cheating the system to gain custody of Hermione really the right thing? What if she's meant to accomplish greatness in America? How can we justify our actions?"

I had to admit Remus was right, but I still knew we were doing the right thing. I just had to convince him to believe that too.

"If Hermione's destined for greatness in America, then she will have no trouble accomplishing it here. This is all Hermione's ever known. We're not complete strangers, Remus. We're family. David and Jeannette—they're honorary marauders. That means they're our brother and sister. We owe it to them to raise Hermione in the world they knew she belonged in."

Remus bit his lips together, a habit he had picked up on as of late. I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. I could almost hear Remus's thoughts without the aid of legilimency. At long last, he sighed.

"You're right, Padfoot."

"I bet you never thought you'd say those words without the tone of sarcasm."

Remus laughed and inclined his head in agreement.

"We should get some sleep, Padfoot," he replied, in the midst of a yawn.

It was really late.

"After all, the earlier we wake up in the morning, the sooner we can get custody of Hermione."

Remus retracted back to his and Diane's room without another word. I lingered in the doorway and watched Harry and Hermione for a few more seconds before going to my own room. It had been a long day.

* * *

Hermione was still staring at me with a look of loneliness and fear on her face as I came out of my reverie. It took me a couple seconds to realize that she expected me to respond.

"We're working on that, Hermione," I replied. I wanted nothing more than to tell her that she could live with us, but I did not want to get her hopes up before it was legal. There was still a chance that the mighty Albus Dumbledore could not skate around legalities this time. "I can promise you that"

Hermione's expression transformed into a doubtful one. I cannot say that I blamed her. A promise does not mean much unless it is upheld.

"As can I," Remus added.

I looked over at him, surprised to see him sitting in the arm chair across from Hermione and me. At some, point he had snuck into the room without my knowing (probably when I was caught up in my recollection.) He was no longer wearing the formal muggle clothes I had last seen him in. Instead, he was wearing a pair of well-worn robes. Normally, none of us wear robes around the house, but after wearing those horrible pieces of formal clothing, it would be nice to wear the comfortable robes.

Remus gave me a pointed look. All our days of talking the Marauders out of trouble (mostly to Professor McGonagall) had taught us the art of silent communication. Remus wanted me to ask Hermione a very important question.

"Hermione," I began tentatively, "how would you like to live here with us?"

I cannot describe the emotion that welled up inside of me when Hermione's young face instantly broke into a delighted smile. She did not even need to verbally answer my question; I knew her answer and so did Remus.

"I would like that a lot," she replied.

"It's settled then," Remus replied. "Professor McGonagall just owled and said Albus has succeeded in gaining the three of us custody of Hermione. He's coming by in the morning with parchment for us to sign."

Then Hermione did the one thing I did not expect her to do. She threw her small arms around my torso and squeezed me in a loving hug. Initially, I was shocked, but I soon returned her hug. After a couple minutes, she let go of me and did the same to Remus. He, however, had expected her actions and did not hesitate to hug her back.

That's how Diane found us when she entered the lounge. She took one look at the scene in front of her and said, "Hermione, why don't you and Uncle Padfoot go upstairs and change while Uncle Moony and I work on lunch?"

Hermione let go of Remus and looked back to me. She held out her hand, and I took it. The two of us walked out of the lounge.

"I just have one request, Diane," I called over my shoulder.

"And that is?"

"Keep Moony away from anything I will potentially consume—that wizard can ruin cereal."

Diane's laughter followed Hermione and me up the stairs. Remus struggled to think of an indignant comeback and had not yet came up with one when Hermione disappeared into her room and I disappeared into mine.

It felt good to be back in a pair of trousers and an old quidditch shirt. By the time I emerged from my room, Hermione and Harry were bounding down the stairs. I followed them at a slower pace. As I entered the kitchen, Remus was setting the table and Diane was just laying down the last plate of food.

"Smells good," I said. "You didn't touch any of it, did you, Moony?"

Remus laughed, but he did not respond. Diane walked around her husband and directed the food to the table with her wand. The three of us took our seats.

"These potatoes are good, Diane," I complimented her. They were exceptionally good that night. "What did you do to them?"

Diane smirked over at me.

"Actually, Sirius," she said slowly, "I didn't make them—Remus did."

I choked on the next bite.

* * *

**A/N: It's been a while since I've updated this. I apologize. Summer ended, and I began my freshman year of college. Things got a bit hectic then, leaving me with less time to work on this than I would have liked. I will try to update as regularly as I can, though. This is, for the most part, unedited. I wanted to go ahead and post it instead of taking extra time to edit it. If you notice any errors on my behalf, feel free to either ignore them or point them out to me nicely. **

**Thanks for reading, and please review.  
**


	31. Chapter 31

**First off, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed. 250 Reviews? You guys mean the world to me. Furthermore, I'd like to thank everyone else who has read this story faithfully, favorited, and/or put this on alert. You guys rock!  
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**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**

It is uncanny how well Hermione fit into our life. After we signed the custody papers, time flew by. May turned into June, and June turned into July. Before I knew it, the owl carrying tickets to the World Cup had arrived. We had just finished breakfast when the owl arrived. All I cared about was the tickets, so Diane picked up the letter.

"Andromeda's down with dragon pox," Diane read from Ted's letter. "They're unable to make it so they sent on their three tickets."

"That was nice of them," Remus said, buttering a piece of toast for Harry.

"Ted got them for free. There's no sense in the seats being empty," I pointed out.

"We could see if Augusta and Neville want to come along," Diane suggested. "I'm sure Neville would enjoy it."

"That's a great idea, dear, but that still leaves us with an extra ticket," Remus replied. He had handed Harry the piece of toast by then and was buttering one for Hermione. (She had a bit more patience than Harry did and could wait for the second piece.)

"Didn't Arthur just get eight tickets?" I asked. "There's nine in his family; we could give them the extra ticket."

"I'll firecall the Weasleys after breakfast," Diane said. "Remus, can you floo over to the Longbottoms and offer them the tickets?"

"Of course, dear."

Diane turned to look at me.

"Merlin knows I hate to leave this task to you, but can you pack Harry and Hermione's things?"

I laughed.

"You have too little faith in me, Diane."

She raised her eyebrows at me, as if questioning my sanity. Remus conveniently turned his attention to the _Daily Prophet_.

"Do I need to remind you about the time Harry conjured a dragon or when he, Hermione, and Neville charmed our stairs into a slide?"

Was this woman ever going to let that go? Just because _everything_ seemed to go wrong when I was responsible for the children did not mean… Wait. Never mind. I think Diane might have a point that time, but I was not going to tell her that.

"I'll keep my wand to myself. I promise."

Diane rolled her eyes in response. I flashed her my most innocent smile and stood up from the table.

"Come on, you two," I motioned to Harry and Hermione. "I'm sure Moony appreciates the salt that is now in his morning tea…"

The two children looked up at me innocently. Hermione's expression was a bit worried; she wasn't the daughter of a marauder so she didn't inherit any trouble making genes. Instead, she was being raised by two of them and quickly learning. Harry, on the other hand, was the son of James Potter and the godson of yours truly. He had mastered the art of pranking since the time Remus got covered with blue paint.

"What about my morning tea, Padfoot?" Remus asked distractedly.

He should really have known better than to be oblivious to his surroundings in this house. He picked up his cup of salted tea and took a look drink of it before spitting it out. Tea went over everything. I only managed to dodge most of the spray by a quick shield spell. Remus began coughing, trying to rid his mouth of what I would assume was a very foul taste.

"Our young marauderlets put salt in it while you weren't looking, that's what," I managed to say around my laughter.

Harry and Hermione looked rather pleased with themselves. Diane also looked like she was fighting off laughter herself, but she sympathetically reached and beat her husband on the back. Remus stopped coughing a few minutes later.

"Thanks for the information, Padfoot," Remus said sarcastically, shooting me a glare that did not work nearly as well as he had shot for. He was, after all, glaring at me through watery eyes. It's not like that's a feat that anyone could accomplish.

"Come on, marauderlets!" I motioned to Harry and Hermione. "Let's get out of here while Uncle Moony plots his revenge."

Moony called something after us that I did not catch. As I was following the two up the stairs, Hermione turned around and looked me straight in the eyes.

"You won't let Uncle Moony get us, will you?"

I could not help it. I cracked a smile. Hermione looked uncertain.

"No, Hermione. I won't let Uncle Moony get you. Marauder's Honor."

She took me at my word and departed for her room. I followed Harry into his, deciding he would be the harder of the two to pack for.

"Uncle Padfoot?" Harry asked me a few minutes later when I was packing the last of his socks.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why is your face green?"

"Huh?"

"Why is your face green?" Harry repeated.

"Why is it…?" I trailed off as I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror.

My entire face was Slytherin green, from my chin up to my forehead. My hair was still the signature Black family dark colour, but tips were as green as my face. I brought up my hand to touch my face and pulled it back, confirming that it was a spell and not paint.

This had only happened to me once before—although my face had turned a different colour that time—and there was only one person in this house who knew the specifics of it.

"MOONY!"

* * *

We arrived at the campsite later that day. Remus and Arthur had done excellent jobs at setting up the tents. We only needed two: one for the Weasleys and one for the Longbottoms and us.

"It's too bad Ted and his family couldn't make it," Remus commented while he, Arthur, and I were sitting at the table that night.

Molly and Diane were both cooking, having banned the rest of us from the kitchen an hour prior. The Weasleys' eldest two boys, Charlie and Bill, were having an animated discussion about the odds of their opposing favorite teams winning the cup. ("But we've got the better chasers!" "So? We've got the best seeker in the world!") Percy was sitting quietly in an armchair trying to ignore the twins and read a rather boring-looking book (the kind of book I would not put past Remus giving to him) at the same time. Said twins were alternating between annoying Percy and writing on a piece of parchment (and whatever they are writing on that piece of parchment, I am certain the adults needed to put a stop to.) Ginny and Hermione were sitting on the opposite side of the tent playing with the dolls that Molly had thought to bring while the other three boys were taking turns playing each other at wizard's chess.

"I agree," Arthur said. "Just the other day, Ted was talking about how much he was looking forward to watching this match. You know, I haven't been to one of these since I was a boy."

I immediately thought back to the only time I had been to a Quidditch World Cup. It was the summer after I graduated from Hogwarts, and it was the last big thing the Marauders (and Lily) did something together before we were thrust into the front lines of the resistance. James and I had debated who would win the Cup, much like Bill and Charlie were doing right then. Remus had joined in every so often with a quiet comment and a roll of his eyes. Lily had to occasionally cast some sort of spell to either keep the two of us in line or undo whatever spell we were under.

Peter (whose name I still am unable to think without feeling a considerable amount of anger) had acted normal then, even being entertained by James and my argument. Had he been selling information to Voldemort yet? Had he already traded his own service for the lives of two of the most important people in the world? Was he just putting on an act then? Were there any clues that gave way his true alliance—his true intentions to have his two of his best friends killed? But that was impossible. Lily and James had not even gotten married. The farthest thing from their minds was parenthood. That was one of the last times Peter was a true Marauder. That was one of the last times the Marauders were complete and alive.

"Padfoot?" Remus's voice knocked me out of my reverie. "You alright?"

I shook my head to clear away the thoughts of that long-ago memory. When my eyes focused on Remus's face, I saw that he was staring at me intently. There was a shadow of sadness on my friend's face; I knew he, too, had been recalling the only other Quidditch World Cup either one of us had been to.

"I was just recalling the last time I was at the Cup," I answered more for Arthur's benefit. "Remus and I tagged along with Lily and James. It wasn't much of a game, you know, but James and I spent the entire night before arguing about who had the better odds. We pitted player against player until we were blue in the face."

I intentionally left out Peter's presence. Arthur did not need to know that piece of information, and I could not bring myself to mention it. Remus noticed my omission, but he did not call me on it.

"You were blue in the face, Padfoot, because whatever spell James cursed you with reacted badly with Lily's silencing spell," Remus pointed out with a laugh.

Ah. Just what I had been waiting for: Remus to fess up to his crimes from earlier that day.

Many years prior, at the only other Quidditch World Cup Remus and I had attended, Lily had gotten so fed up with the discussion James and I were having (mainly because we had not talked about anything else) that she threw a silencing spell my way at the exact same time James sent a me curse. Both hit me simultaneously like the ground after an uncontrollable fifty foot fall in the middle of an intense quidditch match. For a second, I could not catch my breath… and neither could the others; however, their reason was because they were each laughing at my predicament. Remus had found it so amusing that he fell off his seat and began rolling in the floor with tears streaming down his face. To this day, I still do not know which curse James used. (That is probably because neither James nor Lily wanted me to have that kind of ammunition against them, because I spent the months following that evening plotting my revenge.)

"What spell was that, Moony?" I asked nonchalantly.

Remus's eyes widened as the realization that he had walked himself right into an inescapable corner. He opened his mouth to come up with a clever response perfected by years of talking himself (and occasionally the rest of us) out of trouble to Professor McGonagall. In the end, he said nothing.

"It wouldn't happen to be the same spell you cast this morning, would it?"

Remus laughed uncomfortably as he struggled to compose himself.

"Of course not, Padfoot," he replied.

I raised my eyebrows in response.

"You know I don't believe you, don't you, Moony?"

"You really should, Padfoot," Remus told me.

"And why's that?"

A knowing expression—similar to the ones he got back in school when he pointed out a flaw in one of our many marvelous prank ideas—crossed his face. I had seen that look enough to know that Remus was about to make a valid point.

"Because, Padfoot, the spell James used also required the silencing spell to react the way it did."

That's when I realized what point he was making.

"The spell I used, on the other hand, didn't require the silencing spell. Furthermore, your face turned blue when James and Lily's spells reacted with each other, but I turned your face green."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What spell did _you_ use then?" I asked, but I would not get an answer.

"Food's done," Diane called.

"Last one to the table is a rotten dragon egg, Padfoot!" Remus exclaimed as a way to avoid my question and dashed for the table.

* * *

We arrived at the stadium a little while before the match the next day. We had the best seats in the arena, if I do say so myself. Harry watched the entire match from my shoulders and Hermione from Remus's. They were getting a bit too big, but it was the Quidditch World Cup so we ignored that fact. The match lasted for a couple hours, and the only thing we heard about that night was how Charlie was right and Bill was wrong. Charlie was a quidditch prodigy, even back then; Bill really should have known better than to disagree with him.

As we were packing to go home that afternoon, I heard Harry ask Remus the same question he had asked me before we had left the house a couple days prior.

"Uncle Moony?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why is your face green?"

"Why is my—what?" Remus asked as he abandoned the tent he was trying to shrink in favor of staring at Harry in curiosity.

"Why is your face green?"

"My face? Green?"

He conjured up a mirror and stared at his expression dumbfounded.

"PADFOOT!"

Remus should really learn not to cast a spell in the presence of two young ice cream-loving children.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was a bit harder to write than I anticipated it to be. It didn't hurt that my college midterms hit. Gah. Anyway.  
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**Thank you for reading, and please review.  
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	32. Chapter 32

**This is just another disclaimer that says this wonderful world belongs to JK Rowling; I'm just merely borrowing it for the time being.**

Time passed after the Quidditch World Cup like time always seems to do. Before I realized it, Halloween was upon us. I know that I've mentioned a lot of Halloweens throughout this tale, but the 31st of October has always stood out from the other 364 or 365 days of the years. I lost three of my best friends back in 1981 and given the responsibility of raising two of my best friends' son. In 1985, I lost my last remaining best friend to the Werewolf Capture Unit with little hopes (at the time) of getting him back.

Needless to say, with the prior track record and all, I was not looking forward to the arrival of 31 October 1986. But time did not care what I was ready for. It came anyway.

The morning was bright and cheery, albeit a bit chilly. I woke with a start, the nightmares of the previous night tearing at my mind. I had been having that nightmare for a while. Some people out grow nightmares; it seemed I never had.

Much like my prior nightmare involving the death of Remus and a streak of pink, I was at Hogwarts once again. This time, however, I was inside the castle, running up flights of stairs with a destination in mind. As I passed floor after floor, I noticed a small battle raging on. Remus, an older and grayer version of him, made his appearance in the nightmare when he pulled a red-haired girl and a blonde-haired girl out of the way of a wild killing curse. A young woman with mousy brown hair covered Remus' back, firing a stunning spell toward the wizard who was spouting the killing curses in all directions. At one point during my ascent, I stepped over the body of a red-haired man. Eventually, I arrived at my destination: the Astronomy Tower.

There were a few others standing around, but I did not care for their identities. It was a younger version of Lucius Malfoy that I focused on, because he was pointing his wand at a defenseless Professor Dumbledore. Whatever it was that the boy is supposed to be doing, he never did it. From behind me, an older version of Severus Snape sidestepped me and sent a killing curse in Professor Dumbledore's direction. It hit him head on, knocking the old man over the edge of the tower. The last thing I saw was a younger version of James coming out from under his invisibility cloak.

I woke up screaming every time, and that morning was no different. Remus and Diane had long since stopped rushing into my room. They knew that nightmares were once again plaguing my dreams and that there was nothing they could do to stop them. Harry and Hermione went unbothered by my nightmare that night for the mere reason that they had spent the night at the Weasleys.

I finally cleared my head enough to get my bearings, and ten minutes later, I walked into the kitchen. Diane was standing by a cauldron stirring her latest potion while Remus was buttering a piece of toast. The two looked up at me.

"Morning, Padfoot," Remus said. "Was it the same nightmare?"

I poured myself some milk and sat down at the table with him.

"Yeah."

"We figured as much," Remus replied.

"Maybe you should talk to Albus about it," Diane suggested.

"I'm sure the headmaster of Hogwarts has enough to worry about without my trivial dreams," I replied.

"It's been going on for months, Padfoot," Remus pointed out, agreeing with his wife as he always did. "Maybe Diane's right—you should at least tell Albus about them."

"It's probably nothing," I disagreed.

"If it was nothing then dreamless potions would work, but they do not," Diane said.

I sighed. There was no way I was going to win this argument.

"I'll pick up Harry and Hermione and take them with me," I said. "Hagrid has been wanting to see them."

"You're going to take two children with you through the floo network?" Remus asked uncertainly. "Padfoot, you can't even transport yourself without almost hurting yourself."

Although Remus has a point, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You have too little faith in me, Moony."

"And besides, I'll be going with them," Diane added. "I have to take this potion to Snape today anyhow."

"What is this mysterious potion you've been so secretive about?" Remus asked, looking up at his wife.

Diane smiled in response.

"It's just something Albus asked Snape and me to work on."

Her eyes flickered over to me, and I vaguely remembered a conversation I had with Diane the night Remus' transformation went horribly awry. Were Diane and Snape still working on the potion to help Remus keep his mind during his transformations?

"No further explanation?" Remus asked.

Diane shook her head.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with, dear," she verbally replied. "You should be, however, concerned with getting to work on time."

"Diane, I still have…" Remus trailed off as he checked the time. "Well, the woman's right once again. I'd better be going."

Remus got up from the table, placed a quick kiss on his wife's cheek, and left the kitchen. I turned to Diane.

"That potion you're talking about—is it the same one you mentioned last year?" I asked.

Diane nodded.

"I believe we've almost finished it, but I still don't want Remus to know anything until we've finished for certain."

"That's understandable," I replied.

"Of course it is," Diane said. "Now hurry and finish your breakfast. I have to meet Snape in a little less than of an hour."

I finished my glass of milk and got up from the table.

"I'll go pick Harry and Hermione up from the Weasleys."

A few minutes later, I found myself standing outside the Burrow. I had chosen to walk instead floo or apparate. It was a relatively pretty day, especially considering the fact it was the last day of October. I knocked on the door and waited patiently for Molly or one of the children to answer the door.

I did not have to wait long, because soon enough, Molly answered it.

"Good morning, Sirius! You're just in time," she greeted me, ushering me into the sitting room. "I've just finished their lessons. Hermione is catching up with the twins on her reading level, but Harry has her almost beaten in mathematics."

I laughed.

"I imagined as much, for Harry at least. James hated reading assignments for any class, but he'd do his Arithmancy homework within minutes of getting out of the class."

It was much easier to talk about James than it had been. I guess that is what time does to you.

"They're just through here," Molly told me, leading me into the kitchen. "Fred! George! If you touch those, you'll be degnoming the garden this afternoon instead of playing quidditch!"

The twins in question backed away from the kitchen counter, where Molly had already started preparing their lunch. They returned to the table, sitting on the far side of Percy and across from Ron and Harry. Hermione and Ginny sat on the close side of Harry.

"If they're done with their studies, I'll take my two off your hands," I told Molly. "We're going to Hogwarts, and I thought they might want to see Hagrid."

Harry and Hermione were immediately interested at the mention of our half-giant friend.

"I'm sure they will enjoy that," Molly replied.

"Thank you for keeping them last night, Molly."

"It was no problem. They were well-behaved, I assure you of that."

I turned to Harry and Hermione.

"You two ready?"

They got up from the table, saying goodbye to the Weasley children.

"You know, Molly, I could take Ron with me. Remus promised to play him a few games of chess at some point. He could do that this afternoon before everyone else comes over."

Everyone—including the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, possibly Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, and Hagrid—were once again gathering at our house to remember James and Lily. We had not gotten to do that the year prior because of Remus and myself being arrested. I was looking forward to exchanging the cherished memories.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that," Molly replied.

"You aren't," I said. "I'm offering. It'll do the kids some good. Besides, I know Hagrid will enjoy seeing Ron as well."

"Well, alright," Molly relented. She then turned to her youngest son. "You had better be on your best behaviour, Ronald Weasley!"

Ron nodded his head before scrambling out of his chair.

"Do you mind if we use the fireplace?" I asked.

"Not at all. I'll get the floo powder for you."

We followed her into the sitting room where she held out her floo powder for us. There were three children and one adult. I did not like the odds, but flooing was easier than apparating or walking back.

Molly seemed to sense my predicament.

"Ron is comfortable with flooing," she told me. "Why don't you send him and Harry through together? That leaves you with Hermione."

Ron grabbed a handful of floo powder, threw it into the fire, and motioned for Harry to join him. Harry did so a second later.

"The Marauders' Place!" Ron exclaimed.

He and Harry disappeared in a flash of emerald flames. I picked up Hermione and took some floo powder.

"You are coming over later, right?" I asked Molly.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world."

I threw the powder into the fire and stepped in.

"The Marauders' Place!"

A few seconds later, I stumbled out of the fireplace. Thankfully Diane was there to catch Hermione before I fell completely to the ground. Floo'ing has always been my least favorite form of travel.

"I hope to Merlin Harry and Hermione don't learn to floo from you," Diane said.

I picked myself up off the floor and dusted my trousers off.

"Just as I hope they don't learn to apparate from you," I responded.

Diane narrowed her eyes. She had once apparated into the middle of a muggle football game when she had been aiming for Hogsmeade. Remus and I had not let her live it down since.

"That was one time, Sirius," she said briskly. "You trip over yourself every time you get anywhere _near_ a fireplace."

"Are we going to discuss forms of traveling all day or are we going to Hogwarts?" I asked.

Diane offered me floo powder.

"Take Harry. I think you've scared Hermione enough."

"Alright, let's go, Harry."

* * *

"So you see, Professor, I've been having this… dream for quite a while," I said to Professor Dumbledore.

It was a few hours later. Diane was down in the dungeons with Snape. (I did not envy her.) Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at Hagrid's, and I was in Professor Dumbledore's office telling him about the nightmares I had been having.

"You mentioned a nightmare you'd had shortly after the Grangers found out Hermione was a witch," Professor Dumbledore said. "You mentioned a streak of pink and the death of Remus, correct?"

I nodded.

"This time more people were involved."

Professor Dumbledore seemed to be talking to himself so I did not say anything in return.

"Was there anything that stood out?"

I thought back to my nightmare. I could vividly remember every detail.

"Remus and Snape—they seemed older."

I have never figured out why I found that important enough to point out, but subconsciously I think I knew—or at least suspected—the truth of my nightmares.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Professor Dumbledore muttered.

"What do you find interesting, Albus?" I asked because I was impatient to allow him to ponder it over without telling me _something._

Professor Dumbledore did not immediately answer me. Instead, he walked over to his window and looked out.

"I have lived many, many years, Sirius, and I only once prior have I come across something like this."

Thousands of responses were running through my head, ranging from commenting on his age to asking just exactly what he was getting at. I guess my impatience was getting the better of me, but before I could verbalize any response, Professor Dumbledore continued speaking.

"He was many years older than me and a relative of you. In fact, one of his portraits hangs in this very office."

A relative of mine who has a portrait in Professor Dumbledore's office? Who in Merlin's name would allow the portrait of a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black hang in the headmaster's office of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

These questions no sooner entered my mind before I realized exactly who Professor Dumbledore was talking about: my great-great-grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black—also known as the worst headmaster Hogwarts has ever known.

I took a quick glance around the room and spot the portrait of my ancestor. He was coincidentally missing; I assumed he left soon after I began telling Professor Dumbledore about my nightmares.

"Alas, Phineas has decided to visit his portrait in your family's house," Professor Dumbledore noted calmly. "No matter. He probably would not have been keen to help his disgraced great-great-grandson."

I snorted. Professor Dumbledore could not have been more correct. Phineas had even hated me as a child—calling me "disgraceful" even before I was disowned. Of course, I did not like him either. There were only a handful of my blood relatives—living and dead—that I liked.

"Many years ago, my path stumbled across Phineas' path in a village not far from here in the early 1900s. He spoke of dreams he had been having, about how he was fearful his sons or daughter would inherit the curse he lived with. He spoke of the defeat of a powerful wizard within the next half-century. Almost forty years later, Grindelwald was defeated at my hands. Once more before Phineas' death did I run across him. He confided in me he had a second dream of a second powerful wizard rising three-quarters into a century. Almost fifty years after Phineas' death in 1925, Voldemort rose to power for the first time.

"I kept a close eye on his five children—or as close as I could since I away from Hogwarts. The Black family has always been in the public's eye; something like Phineas spoke of would be well-known if a descendent of Phineas possessed it. None of his children seemed to have the "curse" Phineas had spoken of. When I began teaching at Hogwarts, I kept a closer eye on Phineas' descendants. Neither his grandchildren nor great-grandchildren appeared to possess the curse. Years later, when you and your cousins attended Hogwarts, I noticed that one of his descendants finally possessed the same "curse" Phineas had lived with.

"For seven years, you and your friends caused mayhem like this school had not seen in many years; however, more often than not, each of you managed to escape more detentions than you served. I imagine the four of you chalked this up to James' invisibility cloak and to Remus' heightened werewolf senses. These were two of your advantages, but not the most valuable."

Professor Dumbledore stopped talking for a few minutes as he gazed at me over his half-moon spectacles.

"Did you ever once realize why you excelled at Divination? Or how you always seemed to sense where the bludger was during a quidditch match? Or how you managed to escape a fraction of a second before a teacher or a Hogwarts staff member caught you?"

I looked out across the mountains through one of the windows in Professor Dumbledore's office.

Divination had always been my favorite subject; it was the one subject I excelled at without ever studying (not that I studied much anyway.) I knew almost every aspect of that subject, from the meaning of the colour of the smoke in crystal balls to the meaning of the shape of the tea leaves in tea cups without even glancing at a reference book.

On the quidditch pitch, I had always known where both bludgers were at all times. Although most beaters have an idea where the bludgers were or if the bludgers were in hitting range, I knew down to the centimeter where the bludgers were. I had never been caught off-guard by one, unlike my fellow teammates and opposing beaters.

I had also been caught the least amount of times during Hogwarts while we were setting up our pranks. Pettigrew had been caught almost every time he stepped out in a corridor with the intents to set up a prank. Remus, the poor soul, was not far behind him—near the full moon when he was in so much pain, that is. James had always had the cloak with him, but he still managed to get caught quite a few times. (Once he ran into Professor McGonagall while wearing the cloak; thankfully she had thought he was using a disillusionment charm and so he did not lose the cloak.)

But I had never been caught while setting up a prank. I had always had a feeling that a member of the staff was coming just around the corner or that I had a few seconds longer before I had to duck behind a suit of armour. I had always thought it was because I was more in-tune with my surroundings, due to the fact that I had spent my entire childhood playing pranks of my horrible relatives.

"You think I can see the future?" I asked Professor Dumbledore finally.

"I believe, Sirius, that you can see certain things that _could_ be the future," he replied. "The future, as you know, is never set in stone until it's lived."

"So these nightmares—the one of Remus dying and the one of you dying—you believe they could come true?" I asked with iciness in my chest.

In that moment in time, I wanted nothing more than for Professor Dumbledore to tell me that I was incorrect—that I had drawn the wrong conclusion. Remus was my best friend. He was one-half of the remaining Marauders. He could not die. I could not live without him. He was my brother in all sense of the word except blood. And Professor Dumbledore—what would the wizarding world be without him? How would we cope? Hogwarts without Professor Dumbledore did not seem like Hogwarts at all.

The iciness in my chest only grew colder at his response.

"Alas, I do believe that is a possibility."

My conversation with Professor Dumbledore did not last much longer after that. I left his office with the weight of the world on my shoulders as I went to collect Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Professor Dumbledore thought I had the ability to see the future—or at least a version of the future that I did not like. He believed he would die at the hands of Snape, the man he trusted against all odds. He believed Remus would die at Dolohov's wand.

I, on the other hand, did not want to believe this. I did not want to fathom a world without the great Albus Dumbledore or without the humble Remus Lupin.

One day Voldemort would return. Professor Dumbledore had told us that the night James and Lily had died and Harry had defeated Voldemort. The headmaster had mentioned that again just a few minutes prior. When that day came, it was war again. People would die. Loved ones would die, and the next generation—Harry's generation—would fight the fight that my generation had been unable to win.

When that day came, I vowed to myself in that very second as I stood outside Hagrid's door waiting to be let in, I would not stop fighting. I would make sure Albus Dumbledore did not fall at the hands of Snape. I would make sure Remus Lupin did not fatally lose against Dolohov. If I could see the future—or enough of the future—I would make sure Voldemort lost more than I did.

"Padfoot!" Harry exclaimed as he opened the door.

My godson wrapped his arms around my legs.

"Hagrid took us to the forest! We saw—we saw—er… What did we see?"

"Centaurs," Hagrid supplied. "Thought they might like ta see 'em."

I chuckled. The first time James and I had met Hagrid, he had shown us the centaur herd. It seemed to be a Potter tradition that Hagrid was keen on keeping alive.

"I'm sure they enjoyed it," I told him. "We're having the get together in half of an hour, Hagrid, if you'd like to accompany us back."

"I've gotta check on th' cabbages, Sirius, but I'll be o'er there shortly."

I thanked Hagrid for watching the three children, which he waved off and said was his pleasure. We returned to Hogwarts, met Diane, and floo'ed back home.

* * *

A couple of hours later, everyone was gathered in the den. We had to magically enlarge the room to make it accommodate our massive size. Hagrid sat on a magically reinforced sofa with Harry on one knee and Ron on the other. Molly and Arthur sat on another sofa with Professor McGonagall. Percy, the twins, and Ginny sat in the floor around their parents' feet. Professor Dumbledore sat in an armchair with Hermione and Neville in his lap. They both seemed rather content. Augusta sat on the other sofa with Diane and Remus, leaving me to sit in the last armchair. It was crowded, but it felt nice to be surrounded by the people who meant so much to me.

"Halloween of 1981 originally seemed to be just like every Halloween before it," Professor McGonagall said, telling the first of many stories that night. "School was in session. I spent the entire day teaching second years how to turn animals into water goblets and lecturing about Animagi to my third years. I never imagined that night while I was at the feast that the world as I knew it was going to change. Later that evening, I was checking in with the Eastern Headquarters when the news came: James and Lily Potter were dead. At the time, everyone thought Sirius was the secret-keeper; therefore, in my mind, Sirius was the guilty one. I ran into Frank Longbottom, who informed me that Harry was being taken to the Northern Headquarters. I had to see that James and Lily's son was alive with my own eyes so I apparated there immediately. I demanded Albus tell me that the traitor—whom I thought was Sirius at the time—was dead. He informed me that Pettigrew had been the traitor, not Sirius, and that he was being transported to Azkaban. I wouldn't hear it. I couldn't comprehend it. Pettigrew have the brains to betray the Potters? Impossible. That's when I spotted Sirius and pointed my wand him. Going through my mind were thousands of curses, most of them unmentionable and illegal, but he deserved it. He had betrayed James and Lily Potter. He had betrayed his best friends."

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and looked around the room.

"Then Sirius explained his side of the story. and everything made sense. Every curse that I had just thought of disappeared from my mind. Sirius was innocent. James and Lily had been betrayed by Pettigrew, who we had all underestimated, and Pettigrew was getting life in Azkaban."

She stopped talking. Her story reminded me, and all of us, that 31 October 1981 had been just a normal day. There had been nothing special about it until Voldemort had entered the Potters' house, had killed James and Lily, and had been defeated by Harry. That's why that day is important. It was the events that took place, not the actual day itself.

Hagrid told a couple of stories next, but his had nothing to do with Halloween. Instead, he told of the first time he had met James and of the first time he had met Lily, both as first years. It was a nice balance. The stories exchanged that night were not overwhelmingly sad or happy—they were just stories that commemorated the lives of James and Lily Potter.

Sitting there in that room, surrounded by all those people that I held dear, it was hard to imagine that exactly one year later, our group would be expanded. Three more people, who at that moment in time were gathered around their own kitchen table exchanging small talk and acknowledging the significance of that day in wizarding history, would join us in just a few months. We just did not know it at the time.

Halloween is a day that will forever be significant. I lost three of my best friends—two to death and one to betrayal—and almost lost a fourth best friend on two separate Halloweens. The wizarding world had been freed of an evil man for a few years on Halloween. Halloween is not a day I keep repeating because nothing ever happens on any other day. Halloween is a day I keep repeating because so many life-changing events have happened on that day.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the serious tardiness of this update. Also, I don't do well with Hagrid's accent (in case you didn't already realize that) so that is why he speaks very little and I summarize or just mention what he says. I'll try to work on his accent, but it's tough. Also, I feel like mentioning that this is almost the longest chapter I've written for this story. Go me!**

**Merry (Happy) Christmas!/Feliz Navidad!/Happy Holidays!/However You Personally Say It!  
**

**Thanks for reading, and please review. **

**Oh, and can anyone guess who the three people are that will be introduced in the next chapter?  
**


	33. Chapter 33

**Take notice: this is me saying that this wonderful world belongs to the awesome JK Rowling. I'm just merely playing around in it. **

Life after Halloween of 1986 moved quickly. I reached my twenty-seventh birthday about a month and a half after that. We welcomed in the New Year and continued our lives as normal. Remus' twenty-seventh birthday also passed that March. All in all, the months following that Halloween were nothing remarkable.

The remarkable thing occurred in early May of 1987. At the time, I had no idea that anything remarkable was taking place. Looking back, though, I could not think anything else about it.

I was sitting in the lounge late that evening when Remus and Diane floo'ed home. They had been out to dinner at some fancy restaurant because it had been a while since they had been on their own. I had agreed to watch Harry and Hermione on my own.

"Guess who Diane and I ran into," Remus prompted me as he and Diane sat down on the sofa across from me.

"Not any of our old schoolmates, I hope."

"Xeno and Penelope Lovegood," Diane said.

"You remember them, don't you?" Remus asked.

"They were Ravenclaws a couple of years above us, weren't they?"

"So you do remember," Remus said.

"They've got a daughter a year or so younger than Harry and Hermione," said Diane. "She's a doll—takes after Penelope in looks."

In my mind's eye, I saw a smaller version of Penelope. The little girl would have Penelope's long and soft dirty blonde hair and her silvery grey eyes. She would have a thin frame, as I remembered Penelope having. I vaguely wondered how close my mind was to the real thing.

"I hope you don't mind, but we invited them over for dinner tomorrow night," Remus said, interrupting my thoughts. "As you may or may not recall, Penelope was especially helpful to the Order during the war."

"She was responsible for the potions that were distributed to the southern and eastern headquarters, wasn't she?"

"She was," Diane affirmed. "If it hadn't been for her, we would have been seriously short of supplies. I could only handle so much, and with Snape only having one foot in the door…"

"Anyway, we thought it be nice to get some of the Order members back together: the Longbottoms, the Weasleys, the Lovegoods, and us. I think it'd do us some good," Remus said.

I nodded my head, because I did not know how else to respond to Remus' statement. It would do us some good. Merlin knows it had been a long time since we had all gotten together. With the exception of the Lovegoods, the rest of us had not been in the same place since Halloween of the previous year.

Life seemed to revolve around the times I spent with the Longbottoms and the Weasleys. I do not know why that was. My guess is that Diane, Remus, Harry, Hermione, and I had fallen into a comfortable pattern. Nothing—not even the constant prank war we had going on—seemed remarkable enough for anything more than a passing anecdote. Nothing was life-changing, at least.

I took notice of the time and realized I should have gotten Harry and Hermione to bed half of an hour ago. I stood up, dropping my sketchbook onto the table in front of me and left Remus and Diane sitting in the lounge. I took the stairs two at a time and made my way to Harry's room, where I had earlier left the two playing Wizard's Chess.

I stopped upon entering the room. Neither Harry nor Hermione was in there, although the chessboard was abandoned in the corner. Black had checkmated white; Hermione had won the game. Where were the two children?

After making sure they were not in the wardrobe or under the bed, I retreated to Hermione's room. The room was spotless, but the children were not in there either. There was no evidence to suggest that they had even been in there.

I checked my room next and then Diane and Remus'. By the time I concluded they were not in any of those bedrooms either, I was on the verge of hysterics. I had never understood prior to that day why parents were so panic-stricken about their children, especially when they were missing. I had always thought that it was obvious that the children would make an appearance at some point, but I was wrong.

On that day in late May, I finally felt like a parent instead of a guardian. All it took was the disappearance of Harry and Hermione.

Trying to keep myself under control, I headed back down the stairs. Diane and Remus were still sitting in the lounge. Remus had the newspaper in his hands, although he had read all of the articles this morning. Diane was leafing through a potions book, probably searching for another potion to start making.

They both looked up upon my entrance.

"Neither of you two have seen Harry and Hermione, have you?"

They both paled.

"Why would you want to know if we'd seen them?" Diane asked, although I am pretty sure she knew the reason.

"They were upstairs playing chess in Harry's room, but they're not up there now."

Diane jumped out of her seat faster than I thought was possible and breezed past me. She ran up the stairs.

Remus, on the other hand, got up slower and reached for his wand. He muttered a spell that I did not catch and started pointing his wand around the room.

"What are you doing?" I finally had to ask, after his wand had consistently glowed light purple for five minutes.

"Seeing if Harry and Hermione have been anywhere down here during the past few hours," Remus replied as his wand glowed purple in the direction of the fireplace. "When is the last time you saw them?"

"After dinner," I replied automatically. "Around six."

"Good. That's four and a half hours ago; this spell detects up to five hours."

Remus pointed his wand at the front door. The wand remained a light purple. He walked into the kitchen and pointed his wand at the other door; it was still purple. A few minutes later, Remus muttered another spell and his wand stopped glowing.

He turned to me and said, "They've not been downstairs. They've not left through the doors or through the floo network. That means they're still here somewhere."

What amazed me then and still does is that neither Remus nor Diane immediately fussed at me because I had lost the children. They had taken the news so calmly and had immediately sprung to action while I had stood helplessly around.

I had lost the children. I had lost my godson. I had lost my dead friends' daughter. What if something had happened to them? What if—?

"I found them!" Diane's voice floated down the stairs to us, and relief immediately flooded through my body. "Remus! Sirius! They're up here in the loft!"

Neither Remus nor I hesitated. We ran as quickly as we could for the stairs and found ourselves standing in the cramped loft only half of a minute later. Diane was sitting on the old sofa that we had managed to salvage from Remus' parents' old home. Harry and Hermione were sitting in the floor at her feet amongst stacks of old photographs.

Diane looked up at us when we entered. She gave us a look that clearly told us to keep quiet. Remus went to sit by Diane on the sofa. I sat down in the floor next to Hermione.

"You two scared me," I told them quietly. "What are you doing up here?"

Hermione silently pressed a photograph into my hand. I looked down at it. It was a muggle photograph of her parents; we had gotten a lot of the photographs after the deaths of David and Jeannette, because we knew Hermione needed them.

"Hermione…" I did not exactly know what to say.

"I miss my mum and dad," she said quietly.

Harry laid his small hand on her arm, trying to comfort her as he had seen adults comfort each other. It was a heart-wrenching sight. I, being the closest to Hermione, threw my arms around her and drew her into my lap.

"It's alright to miss your parents. I miss them, too," I told her.

"Really?" she looked up at me.

I did not know which question she was seeking confirmation on so I just nodded my head.

"But the thing about the people who love us—they never leave us," I said and placed my hand on her heart. "They're here inside of you and always with you."

"When it feels like you're all alone, just remember they're watching over you," Remus added.

"Like my mum and dad?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, like your mum and dad," Diane verified.

Harry scooted closer to Hermione and me and threw his arms around Hermione. He did not say anything. He did not need to.

I looked up at Remus and Diane. They smiled sadly at me before getting up off the sofa. Diane dropped to the floor first and threw her arms around the children. I relinquished my hold on Harry and Hermione just a little bit to allow Diane to do so. Remus mimicked his wife's actions, his arms not only encasing Harry and Hermione but everyone.

None of us moved for the longest time. Neither did we say anything. For the first time in a long time, I truly appreciated the family that we had formed. I had not felt that sense of belonging since I was sixteen and welcomed into the Potter household.

I know everyone else felt the same way, even if the children may not have understood exactly what it was. It did not need to be acknowledged. We were a family—a _true_ family.

* * *

The next evening, I found myself banned from the kitchen. Diane and Augusta had not even allowed me to walk through the door. Instead, I was in charge of watching the children ("And don't let them out of your sight, Sirius," Diane had added sharply.) I sat in the lounge sketching the scene in the loft from the previous evening. Harry, Hermione, and Neville played gobstones on the floor across the room. Remus had volunteered to walk to the Lovegoods' house, as it had not yet been set up on the floo network.

The fireplace turned green. I looked up from my sketch to see Mr. Weasley step out with Ron. Both dusted themselves off and stepped out of the way as the fireplace turned green for a second time. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny stepped out.

"Evening, Sirius," Arthur greeted as he helped his wife dust off.

"Evening," I returned. "Where are your other children?"

"My brother, Bilius, promised to take them out to Diagon Alley and give them ice cream. He has to travel tomorrow morning," Arthur explained. "Ginny and Ron wanted to come here rather than go with them."

I nodded my head. Arthur bent down and told his children to join Harry, Hermione, and Neville. They did immediately.

"They're in the kitchen, Molly," I said. "I've already been kicked out."

Arthur laughed and sat down in one of the arm chairs. Molly gave me a knowing look and went to the kitchen.

"Remus should be here any minute," I said conversationally. "He went to walk the Lovegoods over."

"I've told Xeno time and time again that he needs to connect his fireplace," Arthur said.

"Maybe he will soon," I replied as the front door opened.

Penelope Lovegood walked through carrying a basket of what I assumed was food. Xeno followed closely behind her. A small blonde haired girl, who I assumed was Luna, clung to her father's hand. Remus shut the door behind them.

I stood up and walked over to them.

"Penelope Lovegood, it is a pleasure," I greeted them, my old pureblood tendencies momentarily getting the better of me. "Xeno, you as well."

"You haven't changed a bit, Sirius," Penelope responded.

"I try not to," I said. "The women are in the kitchen, Penelope, if you want to join them."

Remus walked her to the kitchen. He returned a couple of seconds later; I assumed he was also banned from there.

I looked down at the child. She had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Is this Luna?"

"It is," Xeno replied.

I bent down.

"Hi, Luna," I said as warmly as I could. "I'm Sirius Black, but you can call me Padfoot."

"Padfoot?" Luna repeated. "Like a dog? Or the dog star, Padfoot?"

I blinked, completely caught off guard by Luna.

"She enjoys astronomy," Xeno explained. "Penelope got out her old astronomy books just last week. I insisted she look at the magical creatures books so that she can identify Nargles and Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

It seemed that between Xeno and Luna, I would not have any idea of what to say for the entire evening. Penelope, as if sensing Xeno was likely to launch into one of his trademark discussions about the creatures, called for her husband to join her in the kitchen.

"Luna, why don't I introduce you to some people?" I suggested as Xeno left for the kitchen.

"Alright."

I led her over to the children, because I assumed she knew Remus and Arthur.

"Luna, this is Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Ginny," I said.

Luna offered them a dreamy greeting. Everyone, with the exception of Ron and Hermione, returned her greeting.

"Can she join your game?" I asked, although I did not need to prompt them.

Neville scooted closer to Harry and patted the spot on the floor beside of him.

"Do you like gobstones?" Neville asked, being uncharacteristically bold in front of Luna.

I stayed long enough to hear Luna affirm that she did before I sat back down in the seat I had vacated. Remus and Arthur were discussing the recent death of Roderick Plumpton, the Seeker who invented the Plumpton Pass. Apparently it had made the front page of the _Prophet_ that morning.

That conversation lasted until the women announced that dinner was ready. Soon enough, I found myself sitting around the enlarged table between Harry and Penelope.

"I was just telling Arthur about the Blibbering Humdinger that I saw the other day," Xeno was saying. "It was the most fascinating thing. I was in the garden—"

"That's lovely, dear," Penelope cut him off, "but why don't you tell them about the upcoming issue of the _Quibbler_? Didn't you write an article about an upcoming quidditch game?"

Xeno stopped as if in a daze. He soon recovered though and discussed a topic that had nothing to do with his conspiracy theories or magical creatures.

"So, Sirius, Diane tells me you have a flair for divination," Penelope said to me.

I shrugged.

"I did well in that subject at Hogwarts," I replied.

"I'm working on a potion," Penelope confided. "It's a potion to see the future with such certainty that we've never before been able to achieve. Would it be too much to ask for your help?"

"I'm dreadful at potions," I responded. "Surely Diane's told you this."

Penelope laughed.

"Of course she told me this, but she also told me that you were rather good with wand work."

"I'm fair."

"He's being modest," Diane insisted, interrupting our conversation. "That's his way of saying he'd be happy to help."

I looked over at Diane with amusement. She had known me far too long and could predict my actions almost as well as Remus could.

"Sirius?" Penelope asked uncertainly because she actually needed me to say the words.

I sighed and folded.

"It'd be an honour to help you."

Penelope's smile lit up the room. The potion must have been extremely important. I did not ask, though, because Remus called for everyone's attention.

"I'd like to propose a toast," he said as he raised his glass. "To old friends who have become new and to people who are close to our hearts even if they're far away."

I raised my glass as well and tapped it against everyone else's. We had all lost people—James and Lily, David and Jeannette, and even Frank and Alice—but we had also gained people. We had gained Harry , Neville, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the Lovegoods.

That evening was not remarkable. It was not special. There was nothing about it that would suggest that I would remember it for years to come. But I did. It was special and remarkable in its own normal way. I finally understood family for the first time in years and remembered that friends not leave but also return.

* * *

**A/N: First off, shout out to V.L. Crawford who correctly guessed the three people were the Lovegoods. =)**

**This chapter is a bit different than the rest, but with the introductions of the Lovegoods, I figured it was appropriate. Compared to his character in the books, my characterization of Xeno may seem a bit mild, but I hope it didn't offend anybody.**

**Feel free to point out any grammatical mistakes I've made or if I've accidentally Americanized a term. **

**Thanks for reading, and please review.  
**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: Anything that is recognizable from canon is owned by JK Rowling. **

Four months passed. May turned to June, which turned to July and took August with it. September was upon us, and as Molly and Arthur saw three of their children off to school, I knocked on the door to the Lovegood's rook-styled house.

I had graced the Lovegood property quite a few times since the dinner we had shared four months earlier. Penelope had needed my assistance on the potion almost immediately, and Xeno could always carry a good conversation—if one did not mind the occasional eccentricity he was prone to embellishing the topic with.

"Morning, Sirius," Xeno greeted after he opened the front door. "Do come in. Would you like a glance at tomorrow's edition of _The_ _Quibbler_?"

I followed Xeno into their small kitchen and sat down at the table where Penelope and Luna were already sitting. I accepted the offer to look at _The_ _Quibbler_ as I always had done. It was not the most factual tabloid, but Xeno was rather proud of his work. It was amusing at the least, but furthermore, Xeno was a friend.

I spent the next few minutes thumbing through the tabloid as the Lovegoods finished their breakfast. I was as early as I always was, having left Harry and Hermione with Augusta a little while beforehand.

Soon enough, the Lovegoods had finished their breakfast. Penelope whipped out her wand and said a quick cleaning spell. She then turned to me.

"Are you ready to start, Sirius?"

It was then that I noticed we were alone in the kitchen. Apparently Luna and Xeno had both left the table while I was enthralled by the article entitled, "Invisible Magical Creatures: Have YOU seen Them?"

I closed _The Quibbler_, folded it, and placed it on the table.

"Whenever you are."

I followed Penelope out of the kitchen without further ado. Unlike Diane, Penelope did not like working on her potions in the kitchen. The Lovegoods had a special room of their kitchen for Penelope to work on her potions in.

The potion was simmering. The liquid was a darker hue of magenta that it had been the day before. I still did not know why Penelope was making the potion, but I did not question her about it either. Working on the potion gave me something to do away from the house I had scarcely left for the past six years; it was refreshing.

The book that I had been searching was still open to the same page. I sat down in one of the two chairs and started to read through the theoretical relationship between divination and potions. The potions part of the whole thing was rather boring to me, but the divination part more than made up for it.

A few hours passed. Penelope slaved over the simmering potion, adding appropriate herbs and ingredients at specific times. The magenta colour of the potion darkened deep violet.

"You've surprised me considerably, Sirius," Penelope said after a time.

I blinked my eyes and looked up at her, curious about what she was talking about.

"We've been working on this potion for almost four months, and you have not once asked me exactly why we're making it."

I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands.

"I assumed you would tell me why we were working on this when the time came for me to know."

"You are correct, Sirius," Penelope said, "and the time has come."

I dropped my hands down to the table and looked her in the eyes.

"Why are we working on this potion, Penelope?"

She had the simplest and most powerful response.

"Because Albus Dumbledore asked us—well, me and subsequently you—to do so."

There it was. I should have known all along. The Lovegoods were well-known for their support of the great Albus Dumbledore. Penelope would not have done so much work on her own time unless Albus Dumbledore requested.

You know, I did not recognize it then, but that was why I was also dedicating so much of my time to that project as well.

"Why does Albus want this particular potion?"

"I don't know if I can answer that question fully, Sirius, but I'm sure you have a good guess yourself."

I racked my mind, wondering why on earth Albus Dumbledore, the seemingly omniscient wizard, would need a potion that allows a person to see the future with certainty never then heard of. It only took a couple of minutes for me to realize.

"He thinks Voldemort is coming back, and he wants to know when?"

Penelope nodded her head.

"It's not a matter of _if_ he's coming back. It's a matter of _when_," Penelope said, repeating the words I had heard Professor Dumbledore say many times since that fateful Halloween night of 1981.

"And Albus wants to be prepared."

"Exactly."

Penelope and I had an understanding from then on. We worked twice as hard as we had been. Every improvement we made—whether Penelope added another ingredient or I placed another charm on it—felt like a milestone.

I left the Lovegoods every afternoon thereafter feeling as though the whole world was just beyond my fingertips. It was almost impossible to describe the emotion that coursed through my body after Penelope and I finished working for the day.

* * *

As September passed and October flew by, November fell upon us. It was a cold day in the middle of the month when I walked downstairs to find Remus and Diane sitting around the kitchen table as usual. They were discussing a topic I had been all but oblivious to.

"He needs glasses."

"Harry?" I questioned, because Diane's statement was not that clear.

I sat down at the table. Diane waved her wand and levitated a tea cup over to the table for me. She flicked her wand, and the tea cup floated slowly to the table. I thanked her.

"How do you think he'll take the news?" I asked.

"If he's any relation to James Potter, not well," Remus replied. "Do you remember how he reacted during our fourth year when Madam Pomfrey told him he needed glasses?"

"Wasn't that right after he took a bludger to the head during the game against Hufflepuff?" Diane asked.

"It was," I said, "but according to Pomprey, he was overdue for glasses anyway."

"I don't think he spoke to anyone for like a two weeks," Remus added, "or rather, no one spoke to him for fear of being cursed into oblivion."

"I don't think Harry will react quite the way James did," Diane said. "For one, he's not nearly as hot-headed as James was famous for being."

Remus and I laughed.

"James was known for his temper at times, wasn't he?"

"But he had nothing on Lily," I added.

Remus inclined his head in agreement. A comfortable silence fell over us, but I had to break it.

"Where are Harry and Hermione, anyway?"

"In the doorway," Diane said, nodding behind me.

I turned around. Sure enough, Harry and Hermione stood just inside of the kitchen.

"Come on and get a seat, you two," Diane urged them as she stood up. "I will pour you both some pumpkin juice and get you some treacle tarts."

As Harry and Hermione sat down at the table between Diane's vacated seat and mine, Diane moved over to the cupboards. She returned a couple of minutes later and gave the children pumpkin juice and treacle tarts. She sat back down at the table, sending Remus a pointed look.

"Harry, there's something we need to tell you."

Harry looked up from his treacle tart and grinned at Remus.

"I need glasses."

Remus and I exchanged a quick glance.

"How did you know?" Remus finally asked, but he did not need to; I knew the answer.

"He's the son of a Marauder, being raised by two other Marauders, Moony. He eavesdropped."

Remus laughed.

"I guess I should have reckoned that."

"Yep, Uncle Moony," Harry agreed.

Conversation from then on revolved around nothing more than trivial things. We discussed the progress Penelope and I were making on the vision potion and the latest issue of _The Quibbler_ Xeno had printed. We talked about the newest muggle contraption Arthur had showed Remus and me the weekend prior and the update on Frank and Alice that Augusta gave Diane just that morning.

It was afternoons like that that I lived for the most. Sitting in that kitchen surrounded by the people I called family, I could not imagine any place I'd rather be in that moment in time.

I thought about James and Lily then. I wondered what they would say to Harry if they saw him that day. Would James have given Harry his own glasses to wear? Would Lily have laughed warmly at her husband and son?

More importantly, I found myself wondering how all of our lives would have been if James and Lily had lived past Halloween of 1982. Would we still be fighting Voldemort? Worrying about our loved ones while throwing everything we had into the fight? How many others would have died?

Harry—he would have been living with James and Lily in Godric's Hollow or the Potter Manor. He might even have had a younger brother or sister. He would have been taught to fly by James. He would have been taught to love potions like Lily did.

Diane—she and Remus would probably not have gotten married. He would have argued that he was too dangerous, especially since Voldemort was at large. She would have worked tirelessly on potions for the cause, not caring about her own self.

Remus—he would still have been going on the dangerous missions. He would have been mingling with other werewolves, like Fenrir Greyback, who had turned him. He would have never known stability or love or anything that he has become so used to while living with us.

Hermione—she might still have been living with David and Jeannette, completely oblivious to the fact that she was a witch. They might have still been alive. Or she might have been with them on that trip when they were killed in that traffic accident.

And me—where would I have been? I would probably be jumping from girl to girl, getting whatever I wanted and leaving the next morning. I would have no responsibility except the rare times that I would have babysat Harry.

I did not like any of those scenarios, except Harry's. There was not a day that went by that I did not miss James and Lily or David and Jeannette. But I could not have imagined life any better considering the circumstances that had been thrown at us. Remus and Diane were happily in love. Harry and Hermione were the best kids anyone could hope for.

A few days later, Remus and I took Harry to get his first pair of glasses. Harry did not complain once. Looking back, I think he liked the connection he had with James. He picked out a pair of round-rimmed glasses, much like James had preferred.

With every day that passed, I saw more and more of James and Lily in Harry. He looked more and more like James, but his eyes and his personality were Lily's.

* * *

**A/N: This is a rather short chapter, but I figured it was better than nothing. Excuse any American slip ups I've made. **

**Review? =)  
**


	35. Chapter 35

**One week later, I still don't own anything you recognize outside of this story. **

The year of 1988 came upon us soon enough. I worked tirelessly with Penelope on the potion. Diane spent more and more time at Hogwarts as the potions she started making required more attention than usual. Remus, as a result of mine and Diane's absences, spent less and less time at his muggle bookstore job. He had confided in me that family was more important than some dead-end job; I guess he missed the days of the war, when he could do more in the wizarding world than just try to blend into the background.

Harry and Hermione grew. They spent most of their days at the Weasleys, learning all they would need to know for Hogwarts. Neville and Luna frequented the Weasleys as well. I knew that in a few years, Hogwarts would not know what hit it. I sensed a lot of owls from the head of their house(s) in about three years of time.

It was an a few weeks after Remus' twenty-eighth birthday when life as we all knew it changed once again. I never expected this bump in the road, but we hit full on like a bludger in the middle of a Gryffindor-Slytherin quidditch game.

It was late in the evening when I arrived back at the house. Harry and Hermione were the only two in the lounge. They were sitting in the floor playing a muggle game Arthur had given them for Christmas; they were as fascinated with it as he had been.

"Uncle Padfoot!" Harry had exclaimed as soon as I walked into the lounge.

"Harry!" I had replied, mimicking him. "Where are Uncle Moony and Aunt Dee?"

"Upstairs," Hermione had replied as Harry took his turn on the game. "Aunt Dee is sick."

"She is?" I asked, but I did not expect either one of them to answer me.

I left the lounge and headed up the stairs. As soon as I stepped onto the landing, I heard the sound of the toilet flushing. Remus stood outside of the bathroom door.

"Hermione told me Diane was sick," I said.

"She's been vomiting for the past two hours," Remus replied, running a hand through his already wild hair. "She thinks she may have a stomach bug."

"Should we send Harry and Hermione to the Weasleys?" I asked.

Remus shook his head.

"We'll just keep them away from her for a few days until it blows over," Remus replied.

Neither one of us wanted Harry or Hermione sick. Hermione was nearly impossible to deal with, and Harry was James made over. James was unbearable when he got sick, and so was Harry.

Diane vomited again. Remus and I cringed.

"She kicked me out half of an hour ago," Remus told me.

"She's probably worried that you'll start vomiting as well," I said.

Remus laughed, not taking offense to my previous statement in the slightest.

"Probably," he agreed.

We both heard Diane vomit again. Remus looked as though he needed to empty the contents of his stomach also.

"It's getting late," I said. "Why don't you get Harry and Hermione to bed? I'll see if I can do anything for Diane."

Remus started to argue but then realized it was probably better for him to concentrate on something except for the fact that Diane was sick in the loo. Instead of answering, he just nodded his head and walked down stairs. I waited until he disappeared completely from my sight before I knocked on the door to the bathroom.

"Diane? It's me. Can I come in?"

A few seconds passed before I got a response.

"I look like I've fallen fifty feet from a broom, Sirius," she warned, "and it smells awful in here."

"I don't care," I replied. "Besides, I did at one time live with James Potter. He was always falling getting sick from falling too high from his broom and other odd accidents he found himself in."

"Hangovers from your lot's late night binge drinking don't count," she replied, but I heard the lock click on the door.

I tried the handle and was rewarded with the door opening. The room smelled strongly of bile, but I ignored it to the best of my ability. Diane had not lied. She did look as though she had fallen fifty feet from a broom.

"You don't look so well," I told her.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Sirius," she replied with a smile.

I sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

"Do you think you caught something from one of the students at Hogwarts?"

She shook her head, biting back another urge to vomit.

"I don't see many of the students. I stick to the private potions rooms."

"Do you even think it's a stomach bug?"

Diane vomited again. I turned my head, because I was starting to feel queasy myself.

"I don't know what else it would be."

"You haven't eaten any food around Snape, have you?" I asked, half-jokingly.

She gave me a couple of laughs before she succumbed to vomiting again. I honestly began to wonder how much more she had in her stomach to come back up.

"Remus made me eat some crackers earlier," she said as if reading my mind, "and drink some water."

"And you did just to satisfy him?"

"You know it."

As I sat there in the loo with Diane, I could not help but wonder why this scene felt so familiar to me. It was like déjà vu, but I had no idea why it was. I raked my mind. I was desperate to discover the familiarity that escaped me.

* * *

For a split second, it felt like I was back in third year. James, Peter, and I had known about Remus' illness for almost a year. We had been through twelve moon cycles. We had seen Remus scratched up and patched up. We had understood the lingering emotion behind Remus' eyes. The only thing we had not done was think of a way to help him.

It was the first transfiguration class of the year, and that month's moon was only mere hours away. Professor McGonagall opened class with her usual animagus transformation, earning 'oohs' and 'awes' from everyone paying attention. She captivated us with her ability, and I hung on to her every word.

The moment we left class, I knew I was not the only one who had paid attention during Professor McGonagall's class. Not that we did not actively participate in her class regularly—with the exception of Peter, of course—but that class was different. Professor McGonagall had given us the world in her short class. She had given us a way to help Remus.

"Let's do it," James had said without any clarification of what we were talking about, but no one needed him to explain what we were to do.

No one, that is except Peter.

"Do what?"

"Become animagi," James replied patiently.

"So we can help Remus," I added. "We've been doing research for months, and we've all came to the same conclusion: werewolves are dangerous to humans. They're not dangerous to other animals."

It was invigorating. For the first time since we discovered his secret, we could finally help Remus with his lycanthropy. I could have flown without a broom that day, I was so happy.

But Remus had his reservations.

"Becoming an animagus is dangerous," had been his first argument. "Professor McGonagall explained all of that. We you two paying attention?"

"Of course we were," James waved him off. "But we also know that transforming into a werewolf every full moon is dangerous."

Remus had shot James one of his signature glares; we got those glares at least four times a day during school. Now, I only get those glares once every couple of weeks or so.

"It's also illegal," was Remus' second argument.

Neither James nor I had a counter argument for that one. It seems Peter did not either, but that did not surprise me in the slightest.

"I'd rather suffer through full moons as I have been for the past seven or eight years than have my three best friends arrested and sent to Azkaban for becoming illegal animagi."

"They won't send us to Azkaban," Peter had replied with a note of fear in his squeaky voice. "We're only third years."

Remus had sighed. Although he, like James and I, knew Peter's statement was wishful thinking, he did not try to refute him.

"Don't do it. Please, don't do it."

It only took one glance in the direction of James to tell me exactly how we were going to play this.

"OK, Remus, we won't do it. It was just a suggestion," James had said in a resigned voice. If I had not been thinking the same exact thing James was, I might have believed him.

Remus believed him, though, and that was all that mattered. He shot us a thankful look that severed something deep inside of me. I could not meet his eyes. I was about to betray our agreement.

Before any of us had a chance to speak again, Professor McGonagall called Remus' name. He told us he would meet us in the Great Hall.

We waited until we were two corridors away from Professor McGonagall's classroom before we said anything about animagi.

"We should start researching tonight," James said. "Remus has a study session for Ancient Runes in a classroom on the second floor."

"Researching what?" Peter had asked stupidly.

James gave him a patient look.

"How to become animagi."

Peter's eyebrow had crinkled in confusion.

"But I thought we told Remus we wouldn't become animagi."

James shrugged.

"That was just to satisfy him."

It may have been underhanded. We kept Remus in the dark about practicing to become animagi until it was too late for him to stop us. It took us until the Christmas of our fourth year to finish all of the research and another half of a school year for James and me to achieve a successful transformation. Peter managed within a couple of months of our fifth year.

* * *

"Diane? Padfoot?"

Remus knocked on the door.

"I've put Harry and Hermione to bed."

Footsteps faded away from the door. Remus was going to his and Diane's room.

"You should go to St. Mungo's first thing tomorrow," I told Diane.

She nodded.

"I'd rather not spend tomorrow as I did today."

"Don't you have some easing potion in the cupboard there?" I asked, nodding to the only cupboard in the room.

She nodded and asked me to get it for her. I immediately obliged. She took the bottle from me and drank two long gulps from it. Her face contorted in disgust, and I understand why: easing potions are never the tastiest thing anyone will ever taste. She handed me back the bottle, which I placed back in the cupboard.

"Thank you, Sirius," she said.

"Anytime, Diane."

I helped her to her feet and guided her to her bedroom. Remus was already in his pyjamas, stretched out on the bed with a book. He looked up when we walked in and placed his book aside. He helped me lay Diane on their bed. I conjured a pan and placed it beside of their bed.

"In case you don't make it to the loo," I explained before leaving the room.

The next morning, Remus took Diane to St. Mungo's. I dropped Harry and Hermione off at the Weasleys' and went over to the Lovegoods' just as I had any other morning. I could not concentrate on the spells Penelope asked me to cast. I had told her about Diane's sickness. After half of a morning of failed spells, Penelope sent me to collect Harry and Hermione and return home. She said she would stop by later with a potion for Diane to take.

I had just made Harry and Hermione lunch when Diane and Remus returned home. I knew immediately that they had gotten a diagnosis for Diane's odd sickness. Remus looked beside himself with worry. Diane did not look much better. I felt the pit of my stomach sink.

"What did they tell you?" I asked.

"Why don't you sit down?" Diane suggested.

It did not look as though Remus was capable of saying anything at the moment. That was my first indicator that this was major news.

I looked from Diane to Remus. They sat down at the table. Diane nodded for me to sit down as well. After a few seconds, I sank down into the chair.

"What did they tell you?" I repeated.

Harry and Hermione also looked at Remus and Diane expectantly. It was a few minutes before Remus or Diane said anything.

"Life as we know it is going to change," Remus said in a hoarse voice.

I swallowed back a lump in my throat. I could not describe the feeling of fear that coursed through my body.

Diane turned to Harry and Hermione.

"At the end of this year, you're going to have a little brother or sister."

Surprise, elation, and a whole number of other alleviating emotions overcame me. I saw them mirrored in Harry and Hermione's face. Suddenly Remus' dumbfounded expression made sense.

"Congratulations!" I choked out.

We celebrated all day. The Weasleys, Lovegoods, and Longbottoms came by later that evening. Molly made a delicious meal in honor of Remus and Diane's news. Everyone was ecstatic over the news. We all made a toast to them. Diane, along with the children, toasted pumpkin juice. It was one of the happiest days of that year.

Somewhere looking down on us, James and Lily toasted Remus and Diane's news as well.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. I actually updated within a week. That's the first time that I've done this sense the early days of writing this story. I give you guys the credit for giving me feedback. Thank you all.  
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	36. Chapter 36

**This is a totally unoriginal way to say I own nothing recognizable from canon. **

Months following the announcement of Diane's pregnancy passed rather quickly. Soon June was upon us. Molly and Arthur welcomed back their children from Hogwarts. I spent the morning at the Lovegoods, leaving Harry and Hermione with Augusta. Diane had an appointment with a mediwitch to check on the health of the baby. Remus wanted to go with her, but he could not get off work to do so. He promised to leave work early, though.

It only took a couple of hours to perform the spells required for that stage of the potion. Penelope sent me on home, saying she had to let the potion simmer for eighteen hours anyway. I said farewell to her, Luna, and Xeno before using their fireplace to floo over to Augusta's.

"Good afternoon, Sirius," Augusta greeted me after I somersaulted out of the fireplace.

I returned her greeting as I dusted myself off.

"Eager to find out the status of Remus and Diane's baby?" she asked.

I nodded guiltily. She laughed.

"Why don't Neville and I accompany you lot home?" she suggested. "I've done all I needed to around the house. I'd like to see Diane; I haven't gotten a chance to speak with her much over the past few weeks."

It sounded like a good idea to me. Diane missed talking to Augusta, our oldest friend in the neighbourhood. I missed seeing Augusta and Neville around the house. Frank, her son, had contracted an illness—Wizard's flu, I believe—about a month and a half prior. She had worried herself with him and had not had time to stop by and visit with us as she normally did.

"How is Frank doing?"

"He's recovered," she replied. "He's been moved back to the ward with Alice. He likes it better with her."

There was not a day that went by that I did not think of Frank and Alice. I missed Frank's determination and Alice's up-for-anything attitude. I missed them almost as much as I missed Lily and James. It was such a tragedy that Neville, like Harry, had to grow up without the guidance of his parents. Sure, Augusta done the best that she could, but she could not replace what had been so cruelly snatched away from him.

"I'll have to stop by the hospital sometime and talk to them," I said, meaning every word that I spoke. I did need to go to St. Mungo's and see them. It had been far too long since I had last done so.

"They'll like that, too," Augusta replied as the three children sauntered into the living room where we were at.

"Uncle Padfoot!" Harry exclaimed, catching sight of me before his companions did.

"Harry! Hermione!" I responded in a similar fashion and dropped to my knees with my arms held wide.

He ran to me; Hermione followed at his heels. They crashed into me, and it took all the strength I had not to topple backwards.

"Neville, put on your shoes, dear," Augusta told her grandson while I was hugging Harry and Hermione. "We're going over to Sirius' to see Diane and Remus."

Neville immediately obeyed, running to the front door and slipping his small feet into a pair of shoes. He laced them up and was ready to go by the time Augusta met him at the door. She, after all, knew how I fared with the floo network; she was smart enough to choose to walk instead of floo over.

I held Harry and Hermione's hands in each one of mine. Harry was on my right; Hermione was on my left. We walked out of Augusta's house and all of the way to our home. The conversation between us was light. She talked of her last visit with Frank and Alice. I talked of the progress Penelope and I were making on the potion. Harry, Hermione, and Neville carried on their own conversation about whatever they had been up to that day. It was nice. It was relaxing, and by the time we arrived at our house, Diane and Remus were sitting in the living room.

Harry and Hermione embraced Diane and Remus immediately upon spotting them and then planted themselves in between on the sofa. Augusta sat in one of the armchairs, while I sat in the other one with Neville in my lap.

Diane was beginning to show. Her belly was starting to round out, and she was beginning to have difficulty staying on her feet for extended periods of time. Remus said she did not sleep very well, blaming it on the constant heartburn she seemed to have.

"How was the visit?" Augusta asked, wasting no time to toss around a quaffle.

A strange look crossed Diane and Remus' faces for a split second. By the time I realized it was there, they had mustered up ecstatic expressions.

"The mediwitch seems to think things are coming along," Diane said. "We did learn the sex of the baby, though."

I could not prevent the smile from appearing on my face.

* * *

Suddenly I was not sitting in the living room with Diane and Remus but at the old headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix with Lily and James.

The kitchen was dark, barely lit by the candle on the table. It was late in the evening. Lily was a few months pregnant with Harry and had been to the hospital that day to get a checkup. I had been away on an Order mission in the south for almost two weeks, but I had finally gotten back home.

We were all sitting around the table—Remus and James and Lily and I. Peter, like usual, was absent; word around the Order was that his mother was sick again.

"What did they tell you, Lily?" I had asked, eager to know the status of my future godchild.

Lily had exchanged a look with James. He nodded for her to field the question.

"It's coming along rather well," she said cryptically.

"That's all they told you?" the disappointment in Remus' voice was obvious.

Lily, trying to keep the grin off her face, shook her head. Remus raised his eyebrows at Lily's odd response.

"We found out the sex of the baby!" James had blurted out.

If Lily was the slightest bit annoyed at James for his impatience, she did not show it. Instead, she nodded her head in agreement and did not even try to hide her smile anymore.

"You want to bet on it, Moony?" I had asked.

Remus shook his head.

"I'd hate for you to owe me money, Padfoot. You still haven't paid me for the bet you lost last week."

I had laughed in response.

"I'll get you the five galleons eventually."

"'Eventually' being the key word," Remus had remarked drily before changing the subject back to Lily and James. "I think it'll be a boy."

Lily and James watched Remus and I debate the gender of their child without offering any input.

"Nah, Moony," I had disagreed. "It'll be a girl that looks just like Prongs, only has Lily's fiery temper."

Remus shivered. He had actually shivered at the thought. Then he shook his head of the thought.

"You've kept us in suspense long enough, Prongs," he said. "Tell us, Lily, what are you having?"

She smiled at James before replying to Remus.

"You should have taken him up on that bet, Remus; it's a boy."

I cheered loudly. Remus did as well. I often wondered, when I look back on that moment, what the people in various other parts of the headquarters thought about the outburst. I did not care at that moment; all that mattered was the future son of James and Lily. That's all that matters now as well.

* * *

"Tell us, Diane, what are you having?" I asked, knowing that I was repeating Remus' words from over eight years ago.

She smiled over at Remus and nodded for him to break the news to us. He did not even hesitate.

"It's a girl."

I cheered just as loudly as I had for James and Lily. I could already picture her. In my mind, she looked like Remus. She was small but strong. Her hair was honey coloured as Diane's was, but her eyes were unmistakably the same colour of amber as Remus'. She was beautiful. She was perfect, and I was already preparing myself to scare away all of the blokes she would come across in the future.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Augusta said, smiling brightly at the expecting couple. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Diane replied. "Come with me into the kitchen, would you, Augusta? I must write Molly and Penelope and tell them—oh and Albus."

Diane got up from the sofa and left the room with Augusta. The two women started to gush over baby clothes and potential names and everything in between.

"Uncle Moony?" Harry asked, tugging on Remus' shirt sleeve.

"Yes, Harry?" Remus asked, looking down at him.

"Does that mean we get a new sister?"

Remus nodded.

"It does, Harry. Are you going to be a good big brother to her?"

Harry puffed out his chest importantly.

"I'm gonna be the best big brother she'll ever have!"

I did not have the heart to point out that he would be the only big brother that she would have. It did not matter, though. I did not doubt one bit that Harry would do everything he could to be the 'best big brother' to her. He was already trying to do that with Hermione even though she was from September to July older than him.

"What about you, Hermione? Are you happy with a new sister?"

She nodded.

"I'll read to her every night," she promised.

That was Hermione's way of showing her excitement over the coming of a new sister. She loved to read, and she wanted everyone to read as well. She, like Harry, would do everything she could for her future baby sister. She would be the best big sister she could.

I looked down at the child in my lap.

"Neville, are you looking forward to the arrival of a new baby?" I asked him.

Neville nodded while smiling.

"Gran says I got to be on my best behaviour around the new baby, and that I might get to play with it and show it all of the flowers I've been growing."

Much like Hermione's love for books, Neville enjoyed working with plants. I think he got it from Alice or maybe even Augusta; Merlin knows he did not get that from Frank. Either way, that was Neville's way of being excited about the new baby. I honestly believed that, if the time came, he would stand in between the new baby and whatever was thrown at her—just as Harry and Hermione would do.

Augusta often voiced to me her concerns about Neville. She feared he might have been a Squib. He had never really showed much traces of magic until around his seventh birthday when he, Harry, and Hermione had been climbing the trees in the backyard of Augusta's house. Hermione had climbed up one branch too many. It had broken, and it was only thanks to Neville's accidental magic that he was able to grab her just before she fell and float them both down to the safety of the ground below. Augusta had watched the whole scene play out in fascinated horror—as had Algie, Augusta's older brother. Algie had given Neville a toad named Trevor to celebrate his magic.

"I'm sure the new baby will love to see your flowers, Neville," I told him.

The baby was going to be born into a world filled with love, sadly unlike the world Neville and Harry had been born into. We were not in the middle of a war. Sure, Albus did not think Voldemort was dead, but Voldemort was at least gone for the time being.

Neville climbed out of my lap and left the room with Harry and Hermione a few minutes later. They were going to play a game up in either Harry's or Hermione's room. I cannot say I blame them; adult talk gets boring after a while, and the important information had already been told.

"You look happy, Moony," I said.

"I am happy, Padfoot."

If there was anyone in the world who deserved to be happy in that moment in time, it was Remus Lupin.

"Any fears?" I asked him.

He shook his head.

"We're already raising Harry and Hermione. How much different can a new baby make?" he asked.

I did not feel like pointing out all of the sleep we would miss or the irregular feedings the new baby would require or the fact that we would once again be changing nappies. I knew that was not what he meant by his question. He meant that one extra child to love and nurture and raise was not going to be all that different from what we were already doing.

"But what about…" I trailed off, wanting to ask about the heredity of lycanthropy, but dreading to know the answer.

Remus knew what I was asking anyway.

"I asked the mediwitch about the possibility of my child being a werewolf, and she said that it was slim to none," he replied in an obviously relieved voice. "She had a couple of similar patients and said none of the babies were ever born with lycanthropy. She doesn't think lycanthropy can be passed on from generation to generation."

That was a relief to hear. I would not have loved the child any differently if she had inherited lycanthropy, but I know Remus would have hated himself for cursing his innocent child. He probably would not have been able to live with himself.

"It sounds like everything's in order," I said.

Remus nodded, but I could tell he had not really paid attention to what I had said. I assumed he was too caught up in thoughts about the future and his daughter.

"We should owl Hagrid if Diane hasn't thought to do so," I went onto say.

"We should," Remus agreed, paying attention to our conversation once again.

"Do you remember how ecstatic he was about Harry's birth?"

"He was beside himself with happiness and kept going on about how much he was looking forward to holding him in one hand," Remus recollected. "He came by the hospital to see Harry the day he was born, didn't he?"

"Yep," I responded. "He said he couldn't wait until Prongs and Lily brought baby Harry by the headquarters to see him. He held Harry in one hand and told him his first-ever Hogwarts story. I believe Hagrid had Harry pegged as a Gryffindor from day one."

Remus laughed.

"He did. We'll have to wait and see in three years if Hagrid was right from the beginning."

"I bet Hagrid'll do the same thing with your daughter," I told Remus.

"He probably will," he agreed, "and you know, I'll take it in stride just like Prongs did."

Talking about James and Lily made it seem like they were there with us swapping stories about the birth of Harry and about their expectations of the birth of Remus' daughter. It was almost real. I could just picture James sitting on the sofa with Remus, teasing him about how much he was going to coo over his daughter and demanding to be godfather. I could just see Lily sitting in the armchair that Augusta had vacated moments ago, smiling fondly at her husband and convincing Remus not to listen to a word James said.

I believe they were there that day—James and Lily—just like they were there with us every day. Ever since the announcement of Diane's pregnancy, I had felt closer to James and Lily than I had since they died. Maybe it was because I was acutely reminded of Lily's pregnancy with Harry. Or maybe it was because I knew Remus would have asked James to be godfather of his daughter had James been alive. (Remus promised me his second born child.)

"Things are going to change, aren't they, Padfoot?" Remus asked after a while of silence that I had not paid much attention to.

I sighed and nodded.

"They always do."

That was the thing about time: it moved on. With it, things changed. Nine years ago, it was Lily who announced her pregnancy. It was James who played the nervous yet excited father. It was Diane this time who was due to have a daughter. It was Remus this time who was nervously anticipating the new life that was coming.

But even though I knew things were changing, I never imagined they'd change as much as they did.

* * *

**A/N: I think I'm on a roll with posting. I'd like to take this time to thank each and every person who has reviewed this story (over 300 so far), who have put this story on alert, and/or who have favorited this story. I appreciate every bit of the feedback you guys have given me. You guys are very inspirational.  
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	37. Chapter 37

**Everything recognizable from elsewhere belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.**

I woke with a start, cold chills running up my spine and sweat rolling down my back. The nightmares were back. Just when I had thought I was finally free of them; they returned with full force. It was mid-August of that year, just a couple of weeks after Neville and Harry's eighth birthday, and I had been having the same nightmare consistently for about two months. They were starting to get old, and nothing I did seemed to prevent them. Within a couple of weeks of waking up in cold sweat, I gave up trying to fight them off; I resigned myself to them.

The nightmares were always the same. They started out so nice and turned so horrible. I was always sitting in the lounge, sketching the scene that was laid out in front of me. Harry and Hermione were playing Wizard's Chess in the floor at my feet, and I was trying my hardest to capture the moment on paper. It was a peaceful evening. We were always waiting on Remus and Diane to get home from work.

One minute I was sitting in the lounge with Harry and Hermione, and the next, Augusta is bailing out of the fireplace with Neville in her arms.

That, in itself, was not an uncommon occurrence. Augusta visited us via the floo network three or four times a week, and she always had Neville with her. The difference this time was that she looked half-mad. Her hair was sticking out in all directions. She was not wearing her normal hat or carrying the red handbag she seemed to go nowhere without. She clutched Neville closely to her until they were a few steps away from fireplace. Then she all dropped him onto the floor abruptly.

Somehow, just by taking in Augusta's ruffled appearance, I knew something was wrong before she even opened her mouth to speak. Something terrible had happened.

"It's Diane."

Fear flooded my entire being. My stomach felt as though it had dropped to the ground quicker than a quaffle dropped by the Chudley Cannons.

"What happened?" I asked, standing up without even caring that my sketch book and muggle style pencil had fallen to the ground.

Harry and Hermione abandoned their chess game. Their attentions were trained on Augusta and me. Neville stayed close to Augusta with a solemn expression on his face; the same expression I saw on his face every time he came back from visiting his parents at St. Mungo's.

"She's at St. Mungo's. Apparently she was working on a potion when she collapsed on the floor. Snape found her a few minutes later and rushed her to the hospital."

"Wait—Snape, as in _Severus Snape_, rushed her to St. Mungo's?" I had suddenly wished I had not stood up.

Augusta nodded.

"He stayed with her until Remus got there," she replied, "according to Albus, of course. He's the one who owled me."

If that was not the product of a crazed nightmare, I did not know what was. The Severus Snape I knew would never have taken Diane to St. Mungo's. He may have alerted Albus Dumbledore, but he would not have taken Diane to the hospital himself and stayed with her until Remus got there. Diane had married Remus and was living with me; that was enough of a reason for Snape to hate her.

"I know, Sirius, it's highly unbelievable, but Snape took care of her rather well until she was in capable hands," Augusta said.

It was like I was living in a parallel world—a world in which Snape had tried to save Diane's life.

"We need to get to the hospital now," Augusta said.

I did not hesitate. Augusta grabbed Neville's hand and pulled him to the fireplace. I grabbed Harry and Hermione's hands, wondering for a brief second if the three of us could even still fit together into the fireplace and subsequently the floo network. I did not know how much I trusted either of them to travel by themselves; they may have been eight years old, but Harry, for one, was famous for misspeaking the destination. Remus had taken to placing a spell on the fireplace that lessened the number of times Harry accidentally sent himself to the wrong place.

"I'll go through first with Harry," I said. "Hermione, you will follow. Augusta, once you're certain I've got Hermione, you can then leave."

Augusta nodded her head, offering me the floo powder. She knew that Hermione would be more likely to land in the right place than Harry or Neville would be. I grabbed a handful of powder, threw it into the fire, and stepped in with Harry.

"St. Mungo's!"

Harry and I disappeared in an array of colors and fire. We spun out of control, and when we were spit out of the fireplace, I stumbled to catch my balance in the lobby of St. Mungo's Hospital.

Hermione appeared behind us, with Augusta and Neville appearing a few seconds later. Augusta smiled a bit at my disarrayed appearance before her expression grew serious.

"Follow me," she said.

I did not even ask how she knew exactly where to go. I assumed Albus had informed her of where Diane was. I kept pace with Augusta. Neville, Harry, and Hermione walked on either side of us. It took a little while to navigate the complicated corridors and elevators, and we came to a stop in front of a fancy door.

Augusta led the way in, stopping immediately when she took in the scene before her. I looked over her shoulder to see Albus, Snape, and Remus standing in the middle of the room. Remus was in hysterics. Snape, of all people, was trying to console him. Albus had stopped a healer and was asking her questions; I did not know exactly what Albus was saying. It did not matter, though. My first priority was Remus.

I sidestepped around Augusta and strolled up to Remus and Snape.

"Moony?"

"Padfoot—she's—I—they're—" Remus sputtered around for a few minutes, saying nonsense words that apparently had a very important meaning.

I finally gave up trying to understand Remus and turned expectantly to Snape. In the back of my mind, I wondered who had thrown the cosmic balance off and why in Merlin's name I was expecting a civil answer from Severus Snape.

Snape took pity on me, I guess, because he did not even hesitate to speak to me—and for the first time in both of our lives, his signature sneer was absent.

"Diane lost the baby, and now the healers are trying to save her."

I felt two pairs of arms wrap around my legs. I did not even have to look down to know Harry and Hermione had understood every word Snape had said and were both sobbing quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Augusta hold Neville close to her.

Albus stopped talking to the healer and turned to us. His face was grave. It reminded me of the expression he wore that awful Halloween night James and Lily had been murdered. He spoke two words that shattered my heart and flipped my world upside down.

"She's dead."

* * *

I woke up screaming every time, and every time, Harry and Hermione rushed to me. That morning in mid-August was no different.

"Uncle Padfoot, it's OK," Hermione told me.

"It was just a bad dream," Harry added.

I wrapped my arms around both of them and held them tight to me. I did not want to tell them the nature of my bad dreams; they were much too young for the horrors of the world. It was just a dream anyway, I told myself. There was no need in worrying them.

"I know," I finally choked out. "I was just being silly.

Harry craned his neck to look up at me.

"You're always being silly, Uncle Padfoot."

I laughed, more because I needed to shake the feeling of the nightmare than finding Harry's statement hilarious. Diane, who was very much alive and pregnant, and Remus entered my bedroom.

"Another nightmare, Padfoot?" Remus asked causally.

I nodded. Remus did not know the details of the latest nightmare. I did not have the heart to tell him or Diane about it. I realized in that moment in time that I needed to speak to Albus about them; if anyone knew what to tell me, it would be him.

But that was something I had to do later. I would owl Albus in a couple of hours; it could, after all, wait.

"They're getting worse," Diane commented.

"Yes, they are," I said, but I did not offer anything else.

"I can whip up a dreamless sleeping potion for you," she offered.

I shook my head.

"Those always make me feel like I've got a hangover when I wake up."

She laughed.

"That's probably because you like to pair them with firewhiskey."

She did have a point, but I did not want to let her know that.

"What are the plans for today?" I asked.

"We came in here to give you a proposition, Padfoot," Remus replied cryptically.

Propositions in this household were barely ever a good idea. I waited patiently for Remus to make it anyway.

"If you cook breakfast…" Remus started.

"We'll tell you the baby's name."

Could I really say no to something like that? Although I hated to cook, I had been cooking more and more as of late. Diane had difficulties staying on her feet long enough to fix elaborate meals so Remus and I tried to help out wherever we could. Only the week prior I had successfully cooked dinner without setting anything on fire. I thought it was an accomplishment; Diane thought it was about time.

"Fair enough, I supposed," I replied and then looked down at Harry and Hermione. "That is if I can get some help."

They immediately jumped at the opportunity. Diane was succeeding in making the two love cooking.

"I will! I will!" Harry and Hermione exclaimed at the same time.

They jumped out of my hold and rushed out of the room. I could hear them stomp down the stairs. I moved at a slower pace to follow them.

We settled on an easy breakfast. I placed a safety spell on everything Harry and Hermione touched. Remus and Diane were thoroughly surprised when they entered the kitchen a little while later and sat down to a table full of food.

"Uncle Moony, guess what!" Harry prompted him as Remus placed a piece of toast on Harry's plate.

"I don't know, Harry, what?"

"I helped Uncle Padfoot cook the eggs!"

Remus grinned widely.

"I'm sure they'll taste delicious."

"Oh, they do, Harry," Diane assured him after she had taken a large bite.

"And Hermione buttered the toast," Harry added.

Hermione beamed as Remus and Diane bragged on the toast.

A little while later, Diane whipped out her wand and cleaned all of the dishes. I sat back in my chair and waited patiently for the news. Remus and Diane shared a silent conversation then turned to us.

"We've been thinking," Diane said, "and we think we've come up with a couple of names."

"Harry, Hermione," Remus said, "we'd like you two to pick your favorite."

"Really?" Hermione asked excitedly.

Remus nodded.

"She's very precious," Remus said. "We feel it wouldn't be fair to leave her big brother and sister out of the naming."

They smiled; their excitement was obvious.

"What are the names?" I asked.

"Sophia Diane Lupin," Diane answered and then looked over at Remus.

"Or Sarah Lillian Lupin."

I could tell immediately which name they liked. They did not disagree. Both of their eyes just lit up when the name was spoken.

"I like Sarah," Harry answered almost immediately.

"Me, too," Hermione agreed, "but don't you want to name her after you, Aunt Dee?"

"Of course, Hermione, but I'd also like to honor Harry's mum," Diane answered with a sigh.

"Can I make a suggestion?" I asked.

"Has telling you no ever stopped you before?" Remus teased.

I shook my head.

"Will it stop you this time?"

I shook my head again.

"So suggest away."

"What about Sarah Lillian-Diane Lupin?"

Remus and Diane looked at each other and then at me.

"I hate to say this, Sirius, but I do believe you just had a moment of genius," Diane said.

"That's not something that happens every day," Remus added.

I did not even have it in me to glare at either of them. I just laughed it off.

"We've got to run it by Harry and Hermione before it's official though," Diane said.

"You're right, dear," Remus agreed and then turned to the children. "How do you two like the name Sarah Lillian-Diane Lupin?"

"I love it," they chorused.

"I like it even better," Harry added.

"It's settled then," Remus said. "Our daughter will be named Sarah Lillian-Diane Lupin."

"A third next generation marauder is about to be born," I announced, "in about two months."

"That she is, Padfoot. That she is."

We sat around the kitchen table and talked for the longest time. After a little while, Harry and Hermione left to go play outside in the backyard. We could clearly see them through the large kitchen windows. They tossed around a toy quaffle on a couple of junior broomsticks. Harry was brilliant, and Hermione was not too bad herself.

"There is one last thing we'd like to ask you, Padfoot."

"What's that?"

"I know you've been asked this once, but would you be the godfather of Sarah?"

Did Remus and Diane really expect me to turn them down?

"I'd be honoured."

"We're going to ask Augusta to be the godmother," Diane added. "We wanted to wait to name Sarah before we asked either of you two, though."

"I'll protect and love her as I do Harry," I promised.

"Neither Remus nor I doubt that statement, Sirius."

We spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon sitting around talking about Sarah's arrival. There were still a lot of things that needed to be done before Sarah's birth, such as setting up a cot in Remus and Diane's bedroom. As we talked, Diane started making the dreamless sleep potion for me. She finished the potion rather quickly, and I took my first of many dosages that night.

The nightmares did not return and would not return for another month and a half.

* * *

**A/N: Yep, still on a posting-roll. Review?**


	38. Chapter 38

**This world belongs to JK Rowling; I'm merely playing around in it.**

"Just two more weeks," Diane said as she gingerly sat down on the sofa.

It was late in the evening at the end of October. Diane had spent the entire day at Hogwarts working on some complicated potion. Albus offered to let her rest for a couple of weeks before Sarah's arrival, but Diane had declined almost immediately. She said she preferred keeping life as close to normal or she would probably driver herself crazy worrying about Sarah. I cannot say I blamed her; I was worrying about Sarah enough, and I was not even her parent.

"And then it's sleepless nights," I replied, looking up from my sketch of the late evening view of our backyard. I almost had it finished; it just need a little bit more shading. "Lots and lots of sleepless nights for the new parents."

"You know, Padfoot, as godfather, you're also entitled to your fair share of sleepless nights."

I laughed, knowing as well as Remus did that I would get up every time I heard Sarah cry without even complaining about doing so. I thought back to the first few months after Harry's birth. Remus and I had crashed at the Potters' every night we were not on a mission for the Order, and every time Harry cried, Remus and I would jump up and go to him. It gave Lily and James a little break, but most importantly, it gave us the opportunity to bond with Harry.

"Uncle Padfoot! Uncle Padfoot!" Harry called excitedly from up stairs.

"Speaking of my fair share of things, if you shall excuse me…"

I stood up and placed my sketchpad where I had been sitting. I left Remus and Diane talking about going on a trip the upcoming weekend to get a bit of relaxation before Sarah's arrival. It sounded like a great idea to me.

When I entered Harry's room, I found he and Hermione were sitting on the floor with a large piece of parchment and an assortment of coloured paint laid out in front of them. They had wanted to make something for Sarah, and I had suggested they paint her a picture. They loved the idea so I had magicked the carpet of Harry's room to be paint-proof and set them to work about two hours prior.

"Look at what we made for Sarah!" Harry exclaimed, shoving the parchment into my hands.

I looked down at it. Harry and Hermione had finger-painted instead of using brushes, but it looked beautiful. There was an array of colours—blues, greens, pinks, purples, reds—splattered across the parchment in a probable accidentally intricate design. Harry had no doubt used the bold colours, such as blue and green, while Hermione had preferred the softer colours of pink and yellow. In the middle of the parchment, Hermione had written 'Sarah Lillian-Diane Lupin' in orange. On either side was their left hand prints in red. All in all, Sarah would no doubt love seeing all of the colours.

"This is beautiful," I assured them as I whipped out my wand and conjured a frame around it. They had used instant drying paint so I did not have to worry about them getting it all over themselves.

"Think she'll like it?" Hermione asked.

"I know she will. You want to help me hang it in her room?" I asked them.

They, unsurprisingly, loved that idea. Harry jumped up and helped Hermione to her feet. Hermione grabbed my hand as Harry led the way to Sarah's room across the hall.

When we had originally bought the house eight years prior, I had been skeptical about the number of bedrooms it contained. Six, to me, was an awful large amount for the size of our family, but the house was in a wonderful location and easy to set up wards around. When we had acquired Hermione two years beforehand, I realized that the extra bedrooms were handy. Now Sarah would fill our bedrooms up.

Sarah's bedroom was right next to Remus and Diane's. Remus had made a temporary makeshift doorway in the wall that separated the two rooms. I had spent a couple of days in September painting the walls of Sarah's room a light pink colour.

"Where do you want to hang it?"

Hermione pointed at one wall. Harry pointed at the other. I sighed. Now I had to figure out how to get to a middle ground without seriously upsetting one of them.

"What if we put it on this wall?" I suggested.

"No," Hermione disagreed. "The sunlight will hit it and cause it to glare."

"Not if we put it right here," I said, pointing to another spot on the wall.

Hermione still shook her head. This time Harry also disagreed.

"Now she can't see it from her cot."

I grimaced, my thoughts whirling around in my head quicker than I could grasp a good solution. Then it hit me.

"What about over her cot?"

Hermione squealed in happiness. Harry nodded his head eagerly. It seemed I had successfully averted the small crisis. I levitated the picture with my wand and attached it to the wall above Sarah's cot.

There was a knock on the wall beside of the open door. It was Remus.

"Uncle Moony, look! Look what we made for Sarah!" Harry told him, grabbing his hand and pointing to the picture on the wall.

The moment Remus spotted the picture, his face lit up.

"She will love it," he told Harry and Hermione. "It's beautiful."

Remus spent the next few minutes gazing at the artwork. I imagine his thoughts were revolving around his future daughter—what she would look like, how she would carry herself, if she would love pranking as much as he did, or whether I would successfully make her a quidditch fan as I had done with Harry and was starting to do with Hermione.

Diane walked in the room—well, more like waddled.

"It's time for the children to get to bed."

"Aunt Dee, look what we made for Sarah!" Hermione told her.

Diane's reaction to the piece of child's artwork was the same as Remus' and mine. She smiled softly and ran a hand along her stomach.

"Thank you both. It's priceless."

Harry and Hermione beamed for the third time.

"But Aunt Dee's right," Remus said, tearing his attention away from the painting. "It's time for bed. Us old wizards are getting tired."

Harry and Hermione went to their rooms without grumbling, but not before giving Diane a big hug each.

"Goodnight, Moony, Diane," I said. "Goodnight, Sarah."

* * *

The next day seemed to be nothing unusual. I woke up early. Remus fixed breakfast. Diane left for Hogwarts, and Remus went to work at the bookstore. I took Harry and Hermione to the Weasleys and went to the Lovegoods to work on that potion.

After Penelope and I made significant progress on the potion, we had to let it simmer over night. I bade the Lovegoods bye, picked up Harry and Hermione, and went back to the house. It was evening, and neither Diane nor Remus was home yet. That was nothing out of the ordinary. Diane frequently stayed late at Hogwarts, either working or talking to Albus. Remus liked to visit Augusta after his shift at the bookstore.

I fixed dinner for the three of us before we retired to the lounge. Harry dragged out the chess set and challenged Hermione to a game. I watched them for the first couple of games before I got a better idea. I grabbed my sketchbook and sketched the scene before me.

That is the precise moment when I should have realized something—I had lived through this many times before. I had not had a single nightmare in six weeks; they had all but slipped completely from my mind.

The fireplace turned emerald green. I looked up to see Augusta and Neville emerge. Neville must have tripped over his own feet and fallen, like I have a tendency to do while traveling by the floo network. It was nice to know I was not the only one who had trouble with traveling by floo.

"It's Diane," Augusta said, her hair sticking out in all directions; she looked crazed.

My stomach dropped, fear coursing through my veins. Somewhere in the back of my mind, this felt like déjà vu, but I could not place why.

"What happened?

I stood up, paying my sketchbook and muggle pencil no attention as they clattered to the floor. Startled by my reaction, Harry and Hermione abandon their chess game and look over at me. Neville sticks to Augusta's side with a somber expression on his young face.

"She's at St. Mungo's. Apparently she was working on a potion when she collapsed on the floor. Snape found her a few minutes later and rushed her to the hospital."

_Collaspsed. Snape. Hospital._

"Wait—Snape, as in _Severus Snape_, rushed her to St. Mungo's?"

Augusta nodded her head and replied, "He stayed with her until Remus got there, according to Albus, of course. He's the one who owled me."

I just stared at Augusta, dumbfounded. Rita Skeeter would write an unbiased article before Severus Snape ever did anything like Augusta was describing.

"I know, Sirius, it's highly unbelievable, but Snape took care of her rather well until she was in capable hands," Augusta said patiently. "We need to get to the hospital now."

The urgency in August'a voice snapped me out of my chock. I grabbed Harry and Hermione by the hands and led them to the fireplace. It was time to take charge instead of just sitting around. This was Diane—my sister-in-law in a sense. This was Sarah, my future goddaughter. They both deserved better than me just standing around in a haze.

"I'll go first with Harry. Hermione, you will follow. Augusta, once you're certain I've got Hermione, you can then leave."

Augusta nodded her head and handed me the floo powder. I grabbed a handful, threw it into the fire, and stepped in with Harry.

"St. Mungo's!"

The fire consumed us and twisted us and propelled us towards our destination. Then the lobby of St. Mungo's spun into view. Harry stepped out of the fireplace first. I followed, stumbling a little over my own feet, but I kept my balance. Hermione appeared a couple of seconds later, followed by August and Neville. Augusta chanced half of a smile at my disarray before she became serious.

"Follow me."

I did not hesitate to follow her. She, after all, was the one to speak to Albus; he must have given her instructions to obey. Harry, Hermione, and Neville walked on either side of us as she navigated complicated corridors and elevator rides. She brought us to a fancy looking door that I could have sworn I had seen before; I chalked it up to my many visits to St. Mungo's over the years.

Augusta led the way in, but stopped within a couple of steps. I looked over her shoulder to see Albus, Snape, and Remus standing in the middle of the room.

It is funny how the mind plays tricks on a person. All evening I had felt like I had already lived that sequence of events before, but my mind always managed to convince me otherwise. I had assumed it was lack of sleep or too much worry or maybe a little too much Firewhiskey the night before. I was an idiot. I was so stupid. I _had_ lived that before; I had lived it many, many times before.

Six weeks of dreamless potions. Almost forty-two nights without a single nightmare. That is all it took for me to completely forget the dreams that had consistently plagued me for two months.

That was day I swore off dreamless potions.

I sidestepped around Augusta, suddenly needing to know how close to reality my nightmares had been. I walked up to Remus and Snape, purposefully mimicking my nightmares.

"Moony?"

It was the same tone of voice I had used—the same uncertainty. This time, though, I was not uncertain about what had happened; I was uncertain if my nightmares were going to come true.

"Padfoot—she's—I—they're—"

I did not need to look over at Snape. I already knew what he was going to say. I looked anyway.

"Diane lost the baby, and now the healers are trying to save her."

It was the same voice. It was the same pitying look. It was the same almost-comforting pat. Severus Snape, the man who hated the father of Sarah and who would have probably made her life hell at Hogwarts in eleven years, actually had a heart. Unless I was sorely mistaken, Sarah's death and Diane's predicament was hitting him hard.

If there was any doubt that Severus Snape was the man who found Diane collapsed on the floor, got her help, and stayed with her until he could no longer, they disappeared instantly. Maybe times do change people. Maybe Snape, like myself, was learning that what was once black and white was actually gray. I did not know. What I did know, though, was that Snape was the man who was currently comforting Remus Lupin, the werewolf who had a lost a daughter and was close to losing a wife.

Albus, who had been talking to a healer, turned to face us. The healer shot us a sympathetic look and walked away. I did not need Albus to say the next couple of words, but honestly, I do not think anyone did.

"She's dead."

I felt like screaming. I wanted to so bad, but the air got caught in my throat. This was not a nightmare. I was not going to wake up from this to see Harry and Hermione rush to me and see Diane very much alive and pregnant stand in the doorway of my room with Remus.

This was reality. Diane Lupin was dead. Diane Lupin, the lady who tamed the werewolf, who taught Remus he could open up to someone, who taught Remus he could love, was dead. Diane Lupin, the lady who had so much fight in her, who could brew a potion with her eyes closed, the lady who was fiercely protective of her loved ones and her kitchen, the lady who had kept Remus and I sane following the deaths of Lily and James. She was dead.

At the news, Snape pulled Remus closer to him. Remus wrapped his arms around Snape and sobbed into his shoulder like they were brothers. I could not move to comfort Remus. I was trying my hardest not to collapse on the floor myself.

Harry and Hermione's arms tightened around my legs and I could feel tear stains wetting my trousers. I bent down and pulled them in my arms, holding close to them so that my world would not completely spin out of control.

I saw Augusta hold Neville tightly as tears slowly rolled her cheeks. I blinked back my own. I had not seen Augusta cry in all of the years I had known her. She did not cry when frank and Alice got married. She did not cry when James and Lily died. She did not even cry when Frank and Alice were attacked and permanently hospitalized. But there she was, crying.

I do not know how long we stayed in those positions, but it was a while. Eventually, Albus convinced us to go home, that there was nothing else we could do. He said he would take care of everything at the hospital; thank Merlin Albus did, because I do not think Remus or I could have handled the affair.

Augusta invited us over to her place. She knew that our house would be painful to go home to. She and I walked Harry, Hermione, and Neville back to the fireplaces to use the Floo Network. Snape offered to Side-Along Apparate Remus to Augusta's. Considering the fact that Remus was not in any shape to travel by the Floo Network, I welcomed the offer.

When we arrived at Augusta's, after I had fallen to the ground on my exit from the fireplace, we all sat in Augusta's lounge. She made tea for us, convincing Snape to stay. Remus sat in an armchair with Harry, who had crawled into his lap to comfort him. I sat in another armchair with Neville, who had always liked sitting with me despite his increasing age; I did not mind, though, because holding Neville was something to else to concentrate on. Augusta and Snape sat on the sofa with Hermione, who started out glued to Augusta's side but soon scooted closer to Snape.

It was surreal, sitting in Augusta's lounge. The silence was thick; everyone was too caught up in their own thoughts and grief. Even if someone had known what to say, words were not needed. We just needed each other's company—even Snape, who cared more for Diane than I had ever known.

After a little while, the doorbell rang. Augusta got up and answered it; it was the Weasleys and the Lovegoods. Molly and Arthur and their youngest four children. Penelope, Xeno, and Luna.

"We just heard the news," Arthur said gravely.

There were tears running down both Molly and Penelope's cheeks. Xeno's face was somber; he held Luna close to him. Neither Fred nor George even attempted to crack a smile or a joke. Ron had his arm slung around Ginny.

Augusta levitated her kitchen chairs into the lounge and placed them in spare corners of the room. She conjured a large pillow for the children to sit on so they would not have to sit on the hard floor.

"I can't believe it," Molly said, trying and failing to keep her voice steady. "I just can't believe it."

Then she turned and hid her face in her husband's chest. Her body was racked with sobs. Arthur tried to comfort her, but he was struggling to keep himself together as well.

"Neither can I," Augusta said as she offered the newcomers tea. "It seems like only yesterday I ran into her at the apothecary in Diagon Alley, but it's been six years."

Remus choked back a sob, hugging Harry closer to him. I could hear Harry mutter, "Aunt Dee still loves you, Uncle Moony," and I felt my own heart shatter. I took a deep breath and blinked back tears from my eyes.

"Time does fly," Arthur agreed. "It's been four years since I first met Diane, but it doesn't feel like it's been that long at all."

Talking about Diane hurt as much as thinking about her did, but it was therapeutic. I could tell Remus enjoyed hearing everyone speak lovingly about her so I decided to give to the conversation.

"Did I ever tell any of you how I met Diane?"

They all, save Remus and Snape who both knew the story firsthand, shook their heads. I took a deep breath and began speaking.

"It was the first day of September 1971. I had just met and befriended James, but I had not yet met Remus. I would not meet Remus until after I met Diane. I was on my way back from the loo to the compartment James and I had commandeered, when I all but plowed over a couple of first years. I didn't know it then, but it was Diane and, surprisingly enough, you, Snape."

Snape nodded his head. Although his face was cold and calculating—I imagine it was so to cover up the emotions he was actually feeling—I know he was probably remembering every vivid detail of my story.

"I didn't apologize right off. I was, after all, the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and had not been raised to think of anyone else but myself. Diane immediately hounded me about it. She gave me an earful, forced me to apologize, and then offered me a handful of jelly beans. Snape just stood back and watched the whole exchange with a smirk on his face."

I looked over at him.

"I knew who you were, Black," Snape said. "She didn't. I was amazed that someone of your… stature listened to someone like her."

"There was just something about her. She and Lily both had that same affect on people. You couldn't help but obey them when they got like that."

A round of laughter went through the room, dispelling some of the tenseness in the atmosphere.

"I met her a few hours later," Remus said in a hoarse voice. "We were standing in the Great Hall waiting to be sorted when I stepped on her foot. She yelped. I apologized immediately, unlike that oaf over there. She smiled that smile of hers at me and told me it was alright."

"I got an earful, Moony got a smile," I mock-grumbled.

That made Remus smile.

"What do you expect, Padfoot?"

I shrugged.

"About that, I suppose."

It was nice, our momentary normal bickering. I could almost forget that I would never see Diane's smiling face again or get an earful for setting her kitchen on fire. It was almost like the last few hours had been erased. Almost.

"I've known Diane almost all of my life," Snape offered, staring out the window of Augusta's lounge instead of at any of us. It was like he was lost in his own memory and unaware of our presence. No one interrupted him, though. "Her mother and my mother were close friends at Hogwarts, despite their different houses. They still remained on owling-terms during the majority of my childhood."

Pieces of information and mismatched knowledge started to fall into place. I remembered back to the time Diane had been poisoned, and Snape had saved her life. Albus had said Snape had a soft spot for Diane, and apparently he was right.

"I was fourteen when the unthinkable happened," Snape continued, beginning to look a little uncomfortable discussing the subject. "My home life had never been satisfactory, but it was beyond bad one day… If it hadn't been for Diane… I would not be sitting here today."

Snape abruptly stopped talking, as if he suddenly remembered our presence. His pale skin burning a light shade of pink that looked foreign on him. He did not offer any more information, and we respectfully did not press for any. Snape had already said more than any of us, probably including him, expected him to.

Hermione, the loving and compassionate girl, did something I am sure no one else had ever done in a long time: she wrapped her arms around his midsection and hugged him tightly. Snape was stunned initially but then returned her hug. It was a priceless and once-in-a-lifetime sight.

We spent the rest of the afternoon swapping our favorite stories about Diane. There were many tears shed, but I would like to believe there were just as many laughs. We mourned, and we healed, and we held tight to the family we had grown into.

Somewhere from high up above, six people looked down upon us. James, Lily, David, Jeannette, Diane, and Sarah. I imagine they swapped their own stories as well.

* * *

**A/N: Review?  
**


	39. Chapter 39

**Do I look like JK Rowling? Sadly, no. Maybe Polyjuice Potion will work...?**

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in loving memory of Diane Maggie Lupin and Sarah Lillian-Diane Lupin."

Those were the words that pierced through my heart and reduced the man standing beside of me to tears. The small hand in mine tightened. I looked over to see tears rolling down Harry's young face. Looking to my other side, past Remus, I saw Hermione holding both Remus and Snape's hands with each of hers. There were tears rolling down her face as well as she gazed solemnly at the tufty haired man who was delivering the eulogies.

It was one of the worst funerals I'd ever attended—second only to James and Lily's. Everyone who mattered was there and then some. The Weasleys, all nine of them, were standing on my right. The Lovegoods and Longbottoms were standing to my far left. In between them and Snape were Albus, Minerva, and Hagrid. A few of Diane's family, who offered Remus a few words but could manage nothing else, stood off to the side.

Many tears were shed. I think Remus and I had an unspoken contest to see who could shed the most; Remus won, of course, but I was not that far behind.

The sun shone brightly that awful day on the second of November 1988, much like it had seven years prior to the day when we had buried James and Lily. I had since decided Halloween was cursed. Though Diane's actual time of death was the evening of 30 October, Halloween was still an awful day full of mourning and crying and staring off in the distance waiting on the impossible to happen. We had spent it at Augusta's; in fact, we had yet to venture back to the house where Diane's memory would be strong.

The wizard presiding over the service spoke highly of Diane and of Sarah. He told of Diane's great accomplishments at Hogwarts and in her adult life. He talked of the potential Sarah could have achieved. We elected not to have anyone else deliver any eulogies, although Albus, Augusta, and Molly had all offered to. The time for personal eulogies would come later, and then again on the next Halloween, when we honoured not only James and Lily but also Sarah and Diane.

Besides, I did not think Remus (or I, for that matter) could handle a tearful eulogy.

The service was soon over, and we all traveled to Augusta's, who had offered her home for a dinner. The women insisted on cooking the meal and banned everyone else from the kitchen, just like Diane had done countless times during her life.

I sat in the lounge surrounded by everyone but the women of our ever-expanding family. Albus had conjured more seats for everyone. He sat in an armchair near the fireplace. Arthur, Remus, and I sat on a sofa. Hagrid had a sofa to himself. Xeno and Severus sat in arm chairs of their own. Bill, Charlie, and Percy sat on the last sofa, which was wedged between the armchair Xeno was sitting in and the sofa Arthur was sitting on. The twins, Neville, Ron, Luna, and Ginny sat in the floor, leaning up against the closest armchair or sofa. Harry sat in Hagrid's lap without shame; he may have been eight years old, but he had just lost the closest thing to a mother he had ever known. Hermione sat with Severus in the armchair; in any other circumstance, I would have found such a sight odd.

"Do you need us to go over to your house and straighten some things up?" Arthur offered.

I appreciated the offer, as he knew I would. He had, after all, just offered to box up Diane's possessions and Sarah's baby things for us. I could not take him up on that offer. It would do Remus and me some good to wade through all of those bittersweet memories.

"Thank you, Arthur, but I think Remus and I can take care of it."

Arthur nodded his head, as if he understood why I turned him down. Looking back on it, I think he probably did. That was what I loved best about Arthur; he knew when to drop the subject.

"So how close are you and Penelope to finishing that potion?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

I answered the question distractedly and gradually the conversation flowed between us. The kids, from Bill all the way down to Luna, eventually got tired of just sitting inside. They got restless and decided to go play a game of friendly quidditch. Harry and Hermione were the only two who stayed. Harry was content sitting in Hagrid's lap listening to the mundane conversation, while I was pretty sure someone would have to charm Hermione away from Snape.

Remus did not say much unless he was directly spoken to. I cannot say I was surprised. He had just lost two of the most important things to him, but he did not want anyone thinking he was weak. He tried so hard to push the world out. I did not reckon anyone blamed him for doing so. The world had, after all, pushed him out because of his lycanthropy.

His act did not fool anyone, not even Snape who probably still hated his guts. Arthur glanced over at Remus frequently, the worry lines on his face getting deeper and deeper with each glance. Snape occasionally looked at Remus, but he tried to do so discretely. Even Xeno, who was normally so caught up in his mythical creatures and wild ideas that he paid little attention to his current surroundings, had abandoned the pretense of normality and kept a close eye on Remus.

A war was raging inside of me. I was grieving for Diane and my goddaughter. I was angry at the world for taking them away from us. My heart broke every time I saw a tear slide down Harry and Hermione's faces.

Why had fate been so cruel to us? The four of us had already lost so much already. I had lost my best friend and the only family I had known until this one. Remus had lost his best friends who had stood fiercely by his side during the most troubled of times. Harry had lost his parents before he got to know them, and Hermione had lost her parents without a chance to say goodbye.

Looking back on it all, I suppose that was why our family was so close. The four of us, five when Diane was alive, were drawn together through the worst circumstances. We had been brought together because of death—either James and Lily's or David and Jeannette's. How could fate be so cruel as to allow death into our lives once more and take the mother and child we had all held dearly to our hearts?

I wanted to scream. I wanted to curse at the sky. I wanted to break down and cry until the tears would not come anymore. There were a million things I wanted to do, but I did none of them. I just sat in that lounge with Remus on my left and Albus on my right and pretended like I was gradually coming to terms with Diane and Sarah's deaths.

To this day, I am not sure how well I pulled it off.

I still had not told Albus about my nightmares that had predicted Diane's death. Part of me wanted to act like I had no forewarning—that my nightmares had just been product of an over-active imagination. The other part of me was terrified. I had fully predicted Diane and Sarah's deaths. Sure, I had dreamed things before and they had come true, but I could scarcely come to terms with the fact I had known about Diane's death beforehand and had done nothing to prevent it.

I vaguely wondered how many other nightmares I had would come true. Would the nightmare about Remus' death come true? Albus' death? _My own death?_

During the time that I was caught up in my own thoughts, Augusta had entered the lounge and told us the food was prepared. I got up from my seat as if in a trance and followed Remus to the table, sitting between him and Minerva. Someone, probably Molly, had conjured a whole other table for the younger kids, where they all, even Bill and Charlie, sat without complaint. I guessed they needed time to themselves; sometimes the adults did not know the best things to say.

Remus held it together through the whole meal. I tried to as well. The conversation revolved mainly around Diane and whether or not she would have liked a dish of food or would have enjoyed Celestina Warbeck's latest song. It was refreshing, in an odd and tearful way, to sit at the table and talk about Diane like she was still there with us. If I concentrated hard enough, I could almost see her sitting in between Remus and Snape and holding baby Sarah.

* * *

Hours later, the Weasleys left to get their eldest three back to Hogwarts, but not before the twins convinced Bill to set off a few fireworks in memory of Diane and Sarah. The show was amazing, and I was certain that Diane and Sarah were looking down upon it lovingly. The Lovegoods left soon after the Weasleys did. Hagrid also left, escorted by Snape and Minerva, while he blew his nose on a rather large handkerchief. That just left the Longbottoms, Albus, and us.

Harry, Hermione, and Neville were upstairs in Neville's bedroom. No doubt playing a somber game of Wizard's Chess or maybe just sitting around talking about Diane and Sarah. I imagined the tears had not stopped for them yet.

Augusta, Albus, Remus, and I were sitting in the lounge, each nursing our own glass of firewhiskey.

"We've got to go back home, Moony," I slurred, my drunkenness shining through.

Remus made a noise in the back of his throat that I did not know how to comprehend. It may have been a choked sob or it may have even been a loud sigh. He took another large drink of his firewhiskey, and I cringed. I may have been known for drinking more than my fair share of the alcoholic liquid, but Remus was pushing even my limit.

"You're right, Padfoot," Remus agreed with me.

"I can help you two get everything straightened up," Augusta offered.

Remus shook his head.

"Would you mind keeping Harry and Hermione tonight?" he asked. "I don't think they need to be there while we box up Diane's things."

I was rather proud that Remus got through that sentence without choking up. He emptied his glass of firewhiskey and stared forlornly into the bottom of it, as if hoping some more would appear. Nobody moved to pour him anymore. I personally thought he did not need anymore; it looked as though Albus and Augusta agreed with me.

"Certainly, Remus," Augusta replied. "I'll be happy to watch them for however long you need me to."

Remus nodded his head.

"Let's get going then," he said in a determined voice.

I figured it was as good a time as any to go back home. I was almost dreading it, having to walk into our empty house full of Diane's possessions and Sarah's unused baby things, but if Remus was ready to go, then I would be too.

"Would you mind helping us, Albus?" I asked. "We'll have to restructure the wards surrounding the house."

"You're correct, Sirius. The wards were designed to be upheld by three adult wizards, two through blood and the last through protection. I believe we will be able to rely solely on blood wards, but I would feel better if we restructured the wards to be supported by a third non-residential wizard to ensure maximum security."

"Why non-residential?" I asked.

"A non-residential holder of the wards would not be as vulnerable as a residential. Very few people would suspect such a measure to be taken after all."

That made sense, and I almost wondered why we did not do that to begin with. Then I realized that the three of us—Remus, Diane, and I—had been more than enough to protect a family of four. We had grown since that awful day back in 1981, both in size and number. We needed the added protection now.

"You two should be thinking about who you would like to ask. I'll set it today and seal it within six months time."

Remus and I went upstairs to tell Harry and Hermione bye and to mind Augusta. We did not have to worry, though; we knew they would be well-behaved. We explained a bit of what we were doing before we went back downstairs.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Augusta," I said to her as she offered me a bit of floo powder.

"You're always welcome here, Sirius. Best wishes at catching your balance on the other side."

Remus and Albus had already traveled through. I stepped in the fireplace and disappeared in an smoky whirl of mismatched colours. I stumbled out of the fireplace and almost somersaulted to the floor. I caught myself before I had to, though. I dusted myself off and looked up.

The lounge was just like I remembered it. The chess set sat abandoned on the floor, pieces strewn out all over the place and muttering about being left unfinished. My sketch book laid on the floor, and the pencil I had used had come to a rest by the wall from where I had dropped it.

Remus stood frozen in the doorway between the lounge and the kitchen. I looked over his shoulder to see the kitchen looking just as if Diane had stepped out for a moment. There was a potion boiling over a low fire that was no doubt charmed against setting the house on fire or over-boiling the potion. A dozen herbs and other potion ingredients sat on the worktop by the cauldron; some were opened, others were untouched. A few dishes sat in the sink from the meal I had cooked for Harry, Hermione, and myself before we had been summoned to the hospital. A newspaper from that morning rested on the table where Remus had left it after breakfast.

"Moony?" I asked, announcing my presence.

Remus jumped and turned around to face me. There were fresh tear stains on his cheeks. He was on the verge from breaking down again.

"Why don't you put the lounge in order? Albus can work upstairs, and I'll put the kitchen straight."

Remus laughed through a sob.

"She'd never trust you to put her kitchen straight, Padfoot."

I smiled, tears coming to my eyes.

"I'll have to imagine her scolding me then."

Despite the fact that Diane would not have approved me changing things around in her precious kitchen, Remus agreed. He stepped aside to let me pass. I pulled the kitchen door shut behind me, listening to Albus agree to deal with the upstairs.

I took out my wand, but then realized I owed it to Diane to at least put her potion ingredients away by hand. I walked over and started to put the ingredients back into the correct bottles. Then I put all of them away just like Diane had them. I checked the potion that was simmering, thankful that I had paid a little bit of attention to not only Diane but also Penelope while they were working with their potions. I decided it could simmer until the next morning when I owled Snape to have him do with it as he pleased; it was, after all, related to whatever he and Diane had been working on.

When I had put the kitchen back into order, which included doing the dishes by magic, I went to find Remus. I found Albus at the top floor landing instead.

"Where's Moony?"

"Asleep. I gave him some of Madam Pomfrey's sleeping draught," Albus said. "I imagine he would not have gotten any sleep by his own means tonight. He's in his bedroom. I have everything in order and boxed up. I have already moved them to the basement."

"Thank you, Albus," I said.

"I have also set up the wards. Within six months, we will need to re-strengthen them, providing you have chosen a non-resident to act as a holder."

"We'll think on it."

"As I encourage you to," he said. "I would, of course, be glad to serve as the holder."

"Thank you, Albus," I replied. "Moony and I will make our decision in due time."

Albus nodded his head.

"I believe I have done all that I can here," he said as we began to descend the stairs.

"Actually, Albus there is something I've been meaning to talk to you about," I said. "Do you have time for a cup of tea?"

"I always have time for tea."

We went to the kitchen. I made a pot of tea and grabbed a couple of Pumpkin Pasties from the cupboard.

"A few months ago, I began having nightmares," I led off with as I took a drink of the tea; it was a nice change from the firewhiskey I had been drinking a couple of hours ago.

"What was the nature of these nightmares?" he asked in a tone of voice that suggested he had an idea of the answer.

"I dreamed of the night Diane died, down to every last detail," I said and then proceeded to explain the nightmares.

When I finished speaking, Albus did not say anything for a little while. He stirred his tea and thought over what I had said. Then he looked up at me and spoke, his face aging many more years than I thought possible.

"The Ministry had not released her official cause of death," he finally said, "however, I am sure you can hazard a guess as to what it is related to."

Albus just stared at me as though I was one of his students who was supposed to answer a question related to the previous night's homework. I racked my brain. I thought back to the nightmare I had had six years prior of Diane's death. She had opened a letter that had been cursed. I had dreamed of her demise, but it had not come true. Instead, Snape had come through and brewed a potion that had saved her life.

"The _lethargus_ curse?" I asked.

He nodded his head. His expression was somber.

"It did not lie as dormant as we had hoped," I said.

"You are correct."

"But that just puts the victim into a coma," I argued. "How could that have…?"

"Killed her?" Albus supplied. "I believe, Sirius, that the curse was stronger the second time around—strong enough to cause death instead of a coma."

Suddenly, I did not want the tea I was drinking or the pastie I was eating. I felt sick at my stomach. I had almost completely forgotten about that awful curse. How could I have been so forgetful?

"As for your nightmares, I believe you are correct in your unspoken suspicion," Albus continued. "You have an uncanny ability to see the future—an ability I'm certain exceeds any I've come across in my time. You see with such clarity. You see not only the set path, but also alternative paths. I do not think you should treat your nightmares lightly."

I thought back to all of the nightmares I had had over the past few years. I dreamed of Remus' death. Of Albus' death. Of Diane and Sarah's deaths. Of even my own death. Two of the five had already come true. Could I risk the others to as well?

"Just remember, Sirius, that just because you see the future doesn't always mean you can change the future."

Those were Albus' parting words. He left the house a few minutes later, saying he had been away from his school long enough. I sat there in that kitchen staring into the last fire Diane had ever started, thinking about all of the nightmares I had been plagued with and wondering which of the nightmares were lost causes. Was it Remus'? Was it Albus'? Was it even my own?

* * *

**A/N: So this took me a couple of weeks to write, but I found it a bit difficult. **

**Review?  
**


	40. Chapter 40

**This wonderful world is still owned by JK Rowling.**

Time moved quickly following Diane and Sarah's deaths. December came and went, and my twenty-ninth birthday passed along with it. January, February, March, and April all flew by as well. Soon it was the beginning of May, and the flowers were beginning to bloom. It seemed almost a crime that life moved on without Diane and baby Sarah.

I caught myself thinking about them quite often. Would Diane have finally been fed up with our still antagonistic relationship with Snape? Would Sarah be crawling by now? Walking by now? Talking by now? There were a hundred new questions every day, but every one of them went unanswered. The truth was that I would never know the answers. No one would. Fate had been too cruel to us and had stolen them away.

Remus got up most mornings and plastered a neutral expression on his face. He ate breakfast while reading the morning paper just as he had done for the last eight years. He would smile at Harry and answer any question of Hermione's to the best of his ability. He would go to work at that small bookstore on the edge of the village. Life for him moved on.

Or so it seemed. There were nights I would wake up to his sobs. There were mornings – when he was off from work and Harry and Hermione had already left for the Weasleys – that he would curse and scream at the sky. There other mornings that he wouldn't even leave the bed; those, of course, followed the nights that he actually made it to his room.

On the surface, Remus was holding everything together. Truth be told, he was crumbling before my eyes.

I spent the majority of that winter and subsequent spring at the Lovegoods' working diligently alongside Penelope. I told everyone I was doing it in honor of Diane, but the truth was that I could not face an empty home by myself. Since Remus was obviously not in any state of mind to do much more than mourn the deaths of his wife and unborn child, I picked up the slack and tried my best to fill the gaping hole Diane had left in our lives. I cooked. I cleaned. I was every bit domesticated that I thought I would never be. I made sure Harry and Hermione were taken care of. I kept Remus from completely losing his mind. I was the go-to bloke for it all, but everyone knew my resolve could only last for so long.

Harry and Hermione continued to grow, both in height and in mind. Hermione took to reading every book we had in the house. When she finished them, she read every book the Weasleys had and the Lovegoods had and the Longbottoms had. She loved to read. She loved to learn.

Harry, on the other hand, spent just as much time in the air as he did on the ground. The Weasleys had a couple of spare brooms. He, Ron, the twins, and sometimes Ginny, Luna, Hermione, and/or Neville would go up to the orchard and play quidditch. He loved the air, and he once again proved he was his father's son.

"We need to decide," I said one bright morning in early May. "Albus is coming by in a few days to strengthen the boundaries. We need to ask someone to be the Holder."

Remus looked up from the cup of tea I was sure he had yet to touch. His eyes were red and watery—as though he had not closed his eyes in at least a week. There were dark circles under his eyes as well, supporting my theory that he was not sleeping very well… Not that I blamed him. I, myself, could barely shut my eyes long enough for a quick nap. I feared my sleeping hours more than I ever had my waking hours.

"Who do we have to choose from?" he asked in a voice that was rough from lack of use.

I cringed at the sound of his voice but hid my reaction behind the morning paper I was suddenly pretending to be interested in.

"Albus offered. Minerva offered, as did Hagrid, but I don't think we can use a half-giant; they're resistant to most spells," I said, naming off the internal list I had memorized so long ago. "Augusta, of course, offered, and so did Molly and Arthur and Penelope and Xeno."

"So all of the adults we're on good speaking terms with?" Remus asked in a tone that should have been accompanied by a light chuckle but he could not manage the laugh.

I nodded.

"You could have saved yourself the energy, Padfoot," was Remus' poor attempt to tease me.

I glared at him without any heat; I would have done anything to keep up the pretense that everything was alright and that he was actually dealing with the deaths of Diane and Sarah. Just thinking about Sarah and Diane right then brought an aching to my heart; I did not think I wanted to know how it affected Remus.

"So who would you feel most comfortable with asking?" I questioned once Remus dropped his gaze back to his tea.

He thought for a while. It was a difficult decision to make. Not only would we have to ask one of our dearest friends to take the burden of being the Holder, but we would also have to ask one of them to help protect Harry Potter, the boy who lived. The latter was enough for anyone to shy away. After all, if and when Voldemort returned (and I hoped to Godric it would be later rather than sooner), Harry would be in immediate danger at all times. Whoever agreed to be the holder would be just below Remus and myself on Voldemort's kill list – or, Merlin forbid, possible just _above_. It would be much easier to knock out the Holder instead of Remus or me due to the mere fact the Holder would live under different protections than we would, theoretically.

Or maybe Remus and I were over thinking this entire thing. Maybe Voldemort would not come back either ever or in our lifetimes. Maybe the aurors would capture or kill Voldemort before he became a threat once again.

But that notion was ridiculous and a bit cowardly. I knew in my bones that Voldemort would come back, and it would be during my lifetime. The aurors were employees of the Ministry of Magic, which had flourished the moment Voldemort was gone; there was a very large chance the Ministry would turn a blind eye if Voldemort returned in order to hold onto whatever extra power his absence brought.

* * *

I knew the prophecy that had predicted Voldemort's downfall. I had sat in with James and Lily when Albus told them. I had seen the fear written across their faces as they were told that Voldemort was personally hunting down their son. I had felt that fear myself. That is why I volunteered to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper, and that is why I ultimately backed down. I was too obvious of a choice. Once word got out that the Potters had went into hiding, Voldemort would have hunted me down and killed me, because I would have rather died than give up the location of my best friends and of my dearly loved godson.

So they chose a different person – someone Voldemort would never have believed they would choose: Remus. Remus, after all, was and still is a werewolf. Voldemort believed, like most of his followers, that James and Lily would not gamble with their and their son's safety and choose a werewolf as their Secret-Keeper.

They did, and the entire plan was set into motion. Remus and I would have dinner at the Potters' and then I would cast the spell for Remus to be their Secret-Keeper. James may have trumped me in transfiguration nearly every time, but I always had a flair for charms. It was safer that I cast the spell. James sometimes had trouble using a summoning charm; there is no way Lily would have trusted James with something as important as their son's safety.

As all things go, something went wrong. News of Gideon and Fabian Prewett's deaths at the hands of the death eaters arrived only a few hours after it happened. Their bodies were discovered by the second team assigned to follow them and offer backup once they got to their destination: a shack in the middle of nowhere that appeared to be a major headquarters of the Death Eaters.

Remus and I were at the Northern Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix that day looking over the scrolls and maps Mundugus Fletcher had managed to steal off Lucius Malfoy a few days prior. It was a long and tiring task, and I realized once again that my dear relatives dabbled in more than just their fair share of the dark arts.

Benjy Fenwick, fellow Order member and a Ravenclaw just a couple of years ahead of me in school, burst through the door and told us the news, every excruciating detail that he knew. I will never forget Molly Weasley's screams and sobs; they haunted me for many years thereafter and still did occasionally. Arthur gathered his wife in his arms and tried to console her, but there was nothing he could do to bring her brothers back.

Albus walked into the room behind Benjy with a grim expression on his face. He expressed his regrets of their deaths in the manner that he always did that always let everyone know how personally devastating it was to him as well. Then he addressed everyone in the room; there about nine or ten of us scattered about.

"The second team is already in place," he said. "I fear it is a lost cause without backup."

I hated war. I hated every bit of it. I hated the fact that Molly Weasley would never see her brothers alive again. I hated that James and Lily and so many others had lost and would lose their lives. War was awful. It was terrible beyond all words, and we were stuck in the middle of it with no end in sight.

I knew right then what Albus was getting ready to ask. I think Remus did too, and we glanced at each other. Remus had that look about him that I had seen countless of times during school. We were about to do something on a grand scale, and we were not about to have any regrets.

"We'll do it," Remus and I said at the same time, bringing a deafening silence to the room.

Molly stopped sobbing long enough to look up at Remus and me. Albus gazed at us without that twinkle in his eyes. Augusta, Arthur, Benjy, and the three or four people in there did not even try to hide their awe. Remus and I knew the horrors of war. We had heard what these particular Death Eaters had done to two of our strongest members. Yet we were still volunteering to go.

"Don't talk us out of it, either, Albus," Remus warned him.

"We're not going to let Fabian and Gideon's deaths be in vain," I agreed with just as much determination as Remus had expressed.

"Don't be stupid," Dorcas Meadowes, one of the few Slytherins in the Order, had said. "You'll both be killed before you even make it through their first line of defense. Two people can't do it."

"Alone," Marlene McKinnon, fellow Gryffindor graduate and close friend of Lily's, added.

I looked over at Marlene and saw the same glint of determination that I had admired ever since I was eleven years old. I knew what her next words were going to be before she said them.

"I volunteer to go as well."

"And me," Benjy said. "I owe this much to Fabian and Gideon."

"Can you use a healer?" Belinda Bones, wife of Edgar Bones and a Hufflepuff six years my senior, offered.

"But you have three children you have to think of," Elphias Doge, the Gryffindor housemate of Albus Dumbledore himself, pointed out. "Isn't it rather risky?"

"They're on a holiday with my mother in Australia; they'll be gone for weeks. If I don't do something like this now, I won't have another opportunity for a long time," Belinda argued. "Besides, Edgar is part of the first team. I have to know if he's… still alive."

That settled that argument. It was not often that Edgar went on assignment without Belinda, but Peter (a name I would rather shy away from) had to attend to his sick mother at a last minute's notice – looking back on it, the assignment was a little too far away from any Order Headquarters for him to spy for Voldemort – and we had been forced to substitute Edgar.

"It's settled then," Albus said in a grave voice. "The third team officially consists of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Marlene McKinnon, Benjy Fenwick, and Belinda Bones. You have an hour and a half before your portkey leaves from the Departure Area."

While Remus and I were away on that last minute assignment, Lily and James could not wait any longer to go into hiding. Peter had convinced James and Lily that he would be just as unlikely of a choice as Remus would have been. It was a good argument I suppose; Peter had never done one bold thing in his life. Becoming James and Lily's Secret-Keeper was a sure-fire way to get you killed – unless you were in Voldemort's pocket anyhow and would gladly hand over the Potters.

Looking back on it, I did not know what to gather of it all. Maybe in the beginning Peter was truly honored to be the Potter's Secret-Keeper. Maybe he took that vow – under Lily's wand work, I might add – never thinking that he would sell his friends out to Voldemort. Maybe he was not even spying for Voldemort at that point in time.

It does not matter, though. 31 October 1981 erased any good natured intentions of Peter Pettigrew.

* * *

"Augusta Longbottom," Remus said, knocking me out of my reverie. "She's our oldest friend, you know. If we're to ask anyone, it should be her first."

He was right. She had been our friend the longest and deserved to be the first one we asked. Yes, we had known the Weasleys since the Order. We had known Albus, Minerva, and Hagrid since we were eleven, but they were our headmaster, professor, and gamekeeper respectively. We had also known of the Lovegoods since Hogwarts and had been acquaintances with them since the Order but had not grown close to them until just recently. All of our friends from Hogwarts were either dead, traitorous, or too far gone to ask. Augusta had stood by our side as a friend for the longest amount of time. She was the most obvious choice, and since we did not have an evil wizard breathing down our necks at that moment in time, we could go with the obvious choice.

"I'll owl her," I said, getting up to do so.

"That's not necessary," Remus replied. "She's having tea with us this morning, remember?"

I did not until I realized it was a Tuesday, and Augusta always came over for tea on Tuesdays.

"She should be here any minute," Remus added.

As if knowing we were speaking about her, Augusta appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. She was still brushing off fireplace soot from her robes.

"Just the lady we were hoping to speak with," Remus said, adopting the strong persona in the presence of someone other than me. I do not know if Augusta (or anyone else) actually saw through Remus' façade or not, but I had a feeling everyone did.

"Have a seat, Augusta," I said, whipping out my wand and getting her some tea.

Augusta sat down and accepted the tea generously.

"How is Neville doing?" I asked, not wanting to throw the Holder offer at her just yet.

"Rather well. Molly has agreed to school him alongside her children, Harry, and Hermione. Merlin bless her soul. That woman sure knows how to take care of kids," Augusta said.

"She loves children," Remus said.

"That she does," Augusta agreed. "I think she may even be teaching Luna as well."

I nodded my head.

"Xeno is always working on _The Quibbler_, and Penelope is working diligently on that potion. Neither have enough time to give Luna the quality of education she will need for Hogwarts. Penelope offered to keep the Weasleys' potions stock updated in exchange for teaching Luna. Molly isn't comfortable charging any of us, you know."

"I do know that," Augusta said, "but I made her agree to let me help out with the school books she has to buy for the four of she's sending off to Hogwarts in September. She didn't want to accept, but I wouldn't take no for an answer."

"We told her we'd help with the school supplies they'd need," I said with a questioning look over at Remus.

He smiled a little bit.

"Yes, Padfoot, I told Augusta of our arrangement with the Weasleys," he said with guilty amusement in his scratchy voice.

"Molly caught onto that as well," Augusta said, "but I let on as if your arrangement was a surprise to me."

"And none the wiser?" I asked.

Augusta nodded her head towards me with a smile and took a drink of her tea.

"Bill is graduating next month, isn't he?" she asked.

"I believe he is. We should chip in and get him a graduation present."

"What do you think he'd want?" Augusta asked.

"He's applied at Gringotts to be a curse-breaker, hasn't he?" questioned Remus, who was getting better at hiding his emotions.

Augusta nodded.

"He'll probably be stationed in Egypt or somewhere like that," Remus pointed out.

Augusta understood what Remus was saying.

"We could get him a nice owl to write Molly and Arthur with. Merlin knows Errol would never make a journey like that."

"I like that idea," I said, and Remus nodded. "The next time we're all in Diagon Alley, we'll have to stop by Eeylops Owl Emporium and buy one for him."

"We shall," Augusta agreed.

We talked about other trivial things for a while. The topics ranged from the Weasley twins' upcoming sorting to how Alice and Frank were doing. A little while later, after we had run out of things to talk about, Augusta caught onto us.

"As much as I like idle conversation," she had said, "what is really on your minds?"

Remus and I had exchanged guilty looks.

"Yes, it _is_ that obvious," Augusta said, reading our silent conversation with ease.

Remus took a deep breath. If anyone knew how to ask this question, it was him.

"Understand, Augusta, that you can say no, and we won't think anything of it. You're the first one we're asking, and we, in no way, will force you to say yes."

"Stop throwing around the quaffle, Remus, and ask already," Augusta said with mild amusement.

Remus chanced her a smile before continue.

"Do you know what a non-residential holder of the wards is?"

She nodded immediately. I could see her start to put the pieces together, but Remus did not wait for her to draw her own conclusion.

"We, as in Sirius and myself, would like to ask you to be the Holder of the wards surrounding this house in which Harry Potter calls his residence," he said.

I expected a silence to follow. I expected Augusta to have to take a few moments to think things out for herself. I even expected to make an off-the-wall excuse to leave the room so that Augusta could work everything out in her mind and make her decision. What I did not expect, and what actually happened, was Augusta immediately answering.

"I accept."

There was no hesitation. Augusta Longbottom was not the type of woman to make rash decisions. She was level-headed and rational, but I guess she really was a Gryffindor at heart. She knew the risk she was taking in agreeing, even before Remus and I spent the better part of half of an hour explaining to her everything that could go wrong. Finally, she held up her hand.

"I know the risks and what might happen if – Merlin forbid – something goes wrong, but I stand by my decision," she said with a glint of determination that echoed her years as an active member of the Order of the Phoenix. "Remus, Sirius, I'm a Longbottom, and Longbottoms don't let their friends down in their times of need. Besides, if the situation was different, I know neither of you would hesitate to do the same for me."

_If Alice and Frank had been attacked by Voldemort that night instead of James and Lily_. That remained unspoken, but it was strongly implied. Remus and I heard it as clearly as if she had said it aloud. She also knew of the prophecy and was one of the few Order members who knew it in its entirety. She was Frank's mother; of course she would know.

"We would have in a heartbeat," I told her.

"And you question why I am not hesitating?" she asked, reminding me of her former classmate Minerva McGonagall.

I had to admit. She had us there. We would not have hesitated. She did not hesitate. Why was it such a surprise that she had agreed regardless of the consequence.

"Very well," Remus relented. "I'll owl Albus."

He got up from the table and went to do just that. When he left Augusta and I resumed our earlier idle conversation. I could not describe the relief I felt then. We were that much closer to securing a safer environment for Harry (and Hermione) to live in.

Albus arrived a little while later and set the wards around our home with Augusta as the holder. I could feel the change in security surrounding the house. With Albus' supreme wand work and Augusta's loyalty, I knew we would all sleep better that night, and we did.

There is just something comforting about having a friend that is willing to protect you no matter the costs. It is the kind of comforting that helps you lay your head down at night and gives you the strength to fight away the awful memories and horrible feelings that have plagued you for months. That night in early May of 1989, I slept peacefully on my own will for the first time in over a year, and I think Remus also got a little more relaxing rest that night.

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**A/N: I wrote most of this chapter this morning... I think it's a result of a long (and well needed) sleep.  
**

**Review?  
**


	41. Chapter 41

**I am not the genius who thought up this wonderful world; that would be JK Rowling. I am merely twisting it to suit my preferences without any copyright infringement intended.**

That September was hot, but that is the least I remember about it. It was late in the month. Molly and Arthur had already sent four of their children off to Hogwarts and returned home to their two youngest. Bill had graduated Hogwarts a few months prior and had taken a job in Egypt only a week later. Augusta, Remus, and I had made time to go to Diagon Alley and bought him a large black owl that he named Mercury. He had used it quite often, writing not only his parents and siblings but sending us a very happy thank you note. I reckoned he liked his training a lot.

The days were supposed to grow colder, but they held onto their heat. I did not think Mother Nature was ready to let go of the hot days of summer just yet.

Remus was coping with the deaths of Diane and Sarah a lot better than he had been four months prior. There were days when a genuine smile would grace his lips, and even a few days where a heartfelt laugh would escape his throat unforced. It was hard to compare the man who had everything he could want – a wife, a loving family, and a child on the way – to the man I had come to know – the man who had lost the majority of his world when his wife and child had died.

We were sitting at the breakfast table when the owl came. It was a small tawny owl that I knew belonged to Augusta Longbottom. It was a rare occurrence that Augusta owled us, as flooing over was much quicker. The owl dropped the letter on the table beside of Harry's bowl of cereal. Then it hooted and flew back out of the window.

Harry handed the letter to me. I opened it up and read it.

_Dear Remus and Sirius,_

_My brother and his family are coming to stay for a few days. _

_They are arriving by portkey in a few hours. _

_I need to run a few errands in Diagon Alley and get the house ready for their arrival. _

_Would you mind taking Neville to the Weasleys'?_

_With Regards, _

_Augusta Longbottom_

_P.S. I doubt the owl will await your reply._

I handed the letter over to Remus. He read it over himself and then looked up at me.

"I can floo over and get him on the way to the Weasleys'," I said. "It should be no trouble. What are your plans for today?"

"I'll be here," Remus replied. "I have to look through some of Diane's boxes and move them to the attic."

"Leave those until later, Moony, and I'll help you."

Remus shook his head.

"I have to face them at some point, Padfoot, and I'd rather face it sooner rather than later."

Remus never was the type to put something off. Even in Hogwarts, he always had his homework done the night it was assigned unless it was the night of a full moon. That was the complete opposite of James and me; we always waited until the last minute to do an assignment and more often than not had to enlist Remus's help.

"Alright," I said and then sighed. "You want to check on Hermione while I make sure Harry is awake?"

Remus agreed. We got up from the table and headed upstairs. As he entered Hermione's room, I went to Harry's. I found Harry staring at a photo album that Hagrid had given him for his birthday a few years prior and had consistently updated it every year since. I did not realize it until I had sit down next to him, but there were silent tears streaming down his face.

I felt a pain in my heart as I looked at the photo he was staring at. I found he was looking at two photos, one on the left and one on the right. The one on the right was of Lily and James just a few months before Harry's birth. It had been taken at one of the Order meetings, and they were as happy as they could be. The one on the right was of Diane taken just a couple of weeks before her death. She was beaming, albeit tiredly, at the camera.

"Oh, Harry."

Harry, startled as if he had not noticed my presence beforehand, looked over at me.

"Am I a bad wizard?"

I was floored. Why in Merlin's name would Harry even ask that question?

"No, Harry. You're not," I assured him, but he looked at me doubtfully. "Why do you ask that?"

Harry glanced back down at the photographs.

"Because everyone who loved me is dead—my mum, my dad, Aunt Dee…"

"Moony and I still love you, and we're not dead," I told him. "You're not a bad wizard because the people you love have died. Besides, those who die never truly leave you."

"They don't?"

I shook my head and placed a hand over his heart.

"They live inside of you. Every breath you take, Harry, honors them. Don't ever forget that."

Harry was silent for a little while. I almost thought my response had been a little too deep for him to comprehend, but it was not.

"Do you think…" Harry trailed off for a second and then tried again. "Do you think they're proud of me?"

"I _know_ they are," I responded. "You've got your father's sense of humor, your mother's kindness, and Aunt Dee's sense of determination. There's not a chance in this world or any other that they're not proud of you."

Harry nodded his head. We sat there in silence for a little while longer as he processed everything that I had said. After a while, he sighed and closed the photo album.

"You'll see them one day, Harry," I promised him. "I hope it's many, many years from now, but you will see them, and they'll tell you themselves how proud they are. Just know that Moony and I are proud of you as well."

Harry smiled his lopsided grin at me.

"I knew you and Moony were proud of me."

My responding grin was so wide that it almost hurt my cheeks.

"Why don't you get ready for the Weasleys?" I suggested. "Neville is going to spend the afternoon over here with you and Hermione."

Harry did not need any more prompting. He placed the photo album beside of his bed and was ready to leave in just a few short minutes. Then we headed downstairs where Hermione and Remus were already waiting on us.

"Penelope just fire called," Remus said. "She requested your presence immediately."

"She did?"

Remus nodded.

"She said she thought she was close to finishing the potion. I can take Harry and Hermione to the Weasleys and pick up Neville on the way."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Remus assured me. "Besides, I need to return Augusta's bowl and Molly's herbicide."

That was that. I bade the three goodbye and apparated to the Lovegoods' home. I knocked on the door. Xeno answered it.

"Morning, Sirius," he greeted me. "Do come in."

He stepped aside, and I entered the house.

"Penelope will be down in a few minutes. I hope you don't think anything of me leaving so soon. I have to take Luna to the Weasleys and then go to the apothecary in Diagon Alley for Penelope."

"Do what you need to do," I told him.

Xeno smiled at me. Luna came up to her father.

"Are we leaving for the Weasleys now?"

"Certainly, Luna," Xeno told her and then looked over at me. "Take a look at page four of the latest edition, would you, Sirius? I'd like to know your opinion on the Crumple-Horned Snorkack article."

"I'll look it over before I leave," I promised him.

Xeno nodded.

"Have a good day, Padfoot," Luna said to me as they left.

I sat down at the table like I always did. There was a plate of biscuits that had a warming spell place on it and a glass of milk that had a cooling spell on it. I knew Penelope had left them out for me; she had done so often enough whenever I arrived earlier than she was ready for me to.

I ate the biscuits and drank the milk and looked over the article on page four. I thought about what to talk to Xeno about later and decided he would probably dominate the conversation. I just needed to know enough about the article to keep the conversation flowing.

That was what I loved most about the Lovegoods; they had their beliefs and stood behind them. That was proof of good wizards in my opinion.

"Sirius, I apologize for making you wait so long," Penelope said as she directed me over to the simmering potion. "I had to fire call Albus to make sure I had the correct instructions for the potion."

"Shall I presume you did?"

She nodded.

"There are three steps left, best I can figure. I have to add what is in the mortar there, we have to boil for about fifteen, and then you have to say the nonverbal spell."

"And then it's done?" I asked.

"If all goes well, it should be."

I did not want to ask her why she worded it that way. I was not really sure if I wanted to know why. When we first began working on this complicated potion, she had said that it was a trial and error process; she had place emphasis on the error part. I had not pressed for details. She had not offered them.

She measureds out the correct amount of the mixture in the mortar and dropped it in the potion, which sizzled upon contact. Then she increased the flame below the cauldron. When the potion began to boil, she counted precisely fifteen seconds and cut off the flame.

"Now, Sirius."

I pulled my wand out, waved it over the potion, and silently said the spell I had memorized.

The potion glowed a dark purple. That was the first sign something had gone wrong. Then the coppery pot exploded, knocking Penelope and myself to floor and coating the entire kitchen with goo. The potion burned upon contact with skin, and it took a dazed Penelope only a few seconds to whip out her own wand and clean up the potion from both of us.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I think so. Are you?"

I did a mental catalogue of my body and decided I was indeed alright, other than a few burns I could feel on my face. I told her as much as we stood up to examine the damage.

There was not a spotless spec of her kitchen. The goo was green in color and still glowed a dark purple. It did not seem corrosive to anything but skin, though, so that was a positive of the entire situation.

I head Penelope mutter a curse word as she grabbed a vial and scooped up some of the ruined potion.

"That was my best cauldron," she said. "I guess it needed to be replaced anyhow."

"What do you think went wrong?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"I don't know, Sirius, but I will be finding out—after we clean up and I go to Diagon Alley to get another cauldron."

"Will a cleaning spell suffice?" I asked.

She nodded, and we both cast a cleaning spell over the room. Immediately the kitchen looked normal again except for the tattered remains of what had once been a good looking cauldron.

"We're back to square one," she said with a sigh. "I'll alert Albus and see where to go from here. If you don't want to be involved in any future potion, Sirius, I don't blame you."

I shook my head.

"I enjoyed working on this potion," I told her, and I meant every word I said. "It gives me something to do, and I'm happy to be of assistance."

She shot me a smile.

"I think we can call it a day. It's about time for the Longbottom's dinner. I'm going to see if I can catch Xeno before he leaves Diagon Alley. I'll see you later, Sirius."

"See you, Penelope," I agreed and left the Lovegoods' property.

Instead of apparating, I decided to walk. It was not that far from the Lovegoods' to the Weasleys', and I was not too keen with waving my wand again so soon after the potion had exploded. My skin still burnt from potion, but I ignored it best I could as I made the journey to the Weasleys'.

Molly let me in as soon as I knocked on the door. She saw the burns on my face and fussed over me. She applied burn cream to the worst of the burns and waved her wand to treat the others. I felt better in no time under her ministrations. I told her about the potion explosion, because she knew just as much about the whole thing as I did. She sighed.

"Albus was hoping to have that at our disposal before too long, but there's nothing we can do about that. We'll have it when we have it, I suppose."

"If we can figure out what caused that one to explode, we may be able to brew the potion properly."

"That's the trouble with inventing potions, though, isn't it?" Molly asked. "You never know which step you have done wrong."

She did have a point. I racked my brain and tried to remember every step Penelope and I had made throughout the entire brewing process of the potion. I kept wondering which one we had messed up on or which one had ultimately caused the inevitable explosion.

"The important thing is that no one was seriously hurt," Molly said. "Penelope, I'm sure, is more used to burns than you are."

"She was applying burn cream when I left," I said.

"She knows the proper care for a potioneer."

Molly and I chatted a little while longer as Hermione, Harry, and Neville to finish their studies. Remus had promised Molly that we would watch Neville until Augusta's dinner since she still had to wait on Arthur to get home from work before they could leave for the Longbottoms'.

When the three finished, I thanked Molly for teaching them once again. We floo'ed home. Harry talked Neville and Hermione into a game of gobstones as I went upstairs to find Remus.

I had expected to find Remus staring at a bunch of boxes, but he was not. Instead, he was emerging from the bathroom just as I reached the first floor landing.

"You've missed all of the fun, Padfoot," he told me, and then he got a good look at me. "What in Merlin's name happened to your face?"

I had not looked at my reflection, but I figured I must have looked pretty funny with burn cream covering most of my face. I wanted to go wash up, but Molly had forbid me from doing so for at least eight hours. The cream needed to set in or something; I did not really pay attention to her reasoning.

"The potion exploded on us."

"Did it really?"

I nodded, but I could not help but think that there was something off about him. It took me a few seconds to come to a conclusion.

"Did Augusta give you a Calming Draught?" I asked cautiously.

He shook his head, eyeing me oddly.

"She just offered me tea."

_So she did give him a Calming Draught,_ I thought to myself with a chuckle. _Bless her soul._

"Did you get it all boxed up?" I asked, deciding to change the subject before he could realize Augusta had spiked his tea.

He nodded.

"I just finished moving them to the attic," Remus said and then looked at his watch. "Merlin's beard! We have Augusta's dinner to go to in a little under an hour."

"Yes, we do, and, er, Moony, are you going like that?" I asked him.

Remus looked offended—or as offended as he could look on Calming Draught.

"So what if I am?"

"You might want to put on some trousers."

To his credit, a blush crept onto his cheeks as he looked down.

"That I shall do then."

Remus stepped past me into his bedroom. I laughed as I went back downstairs. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were about to play another game of gobstones, because apparently Neville had defeated the other two pretty easily in the last game. Harry asked me to play with them so I did.

We ended up playing two games of gobstones before we had to leave for Augusta's, and Neville won both games. We side-along apparated to the Augusta's.

She let us inside and introduced us to her brother and his family, who stood beside of her. The man and woman were around Augusta's age. He had the typical features of a Longbottom—blond hair, light coloured eyes, and a round face. She was a brunette, but her hair, like his, was graying. The other lady, who looked to be a few years younger than me, was tall; her hair was brown and tied back into a hair bow to keep it out of her blue eyes. Her face was round in the Longbottom fashion and kind.

"This is Algie and Enid," she told us, "and their daughter Octavia."

Augusta then proceeded to introduce us, with the exception of Neville, of course.

"Still no sign of magic from him, Augusta?" Algie asked with a nod towards Neville, who was heading up stairs with the rest of the kids.

Augusta sighed.

"He's just a bit of a late bloomer."

"Must be from his mother's genes," Algie said. "Hasn't been a Longbottom yet that hasn't showed early signs of magic."

"If I recall correctly, Algie, you were ten years old before you showed the least bit of accidental magic," Augusta replied coolly.

Algie sputtered about.

"It's best just to leave them at that," Octavia muttered. "Come on, let's see what is going on in the kitchen."

I had not realized it until then, but Remus had already got drawn into a conversation with Arthur. I could hear them talk loudly about some sort of muggle electronic that Remus was explaining. Arthur was hanging onto every word, fascinated by Remus' knowledge of the muggle world as always. Remus' mother had been muggleborn, and she had raised Remus with an appreciation for muggle items.

With nothing else better to do except maybe track Xeno down for that conversation about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack article on page four of _The Quibbler_, I followed Octavia into the kitchen. I decided I would talk to Xeno later.

"I've never known Dad and Aunt Augusta to agree on much of anything," Octavia said conversationally to me, offering me a cup of tea. "They're close for siblings, but they don't always see eye-to-eye."

I took her up on her offer.

"This is the first I've heard of Algie, honestly."

"That doesn't surprise me," Octavia replied with a laugh. "Normally, Aunt Augusta comes to visit us in London, but Dad insisted on visiting this time."

"Any particular reason?" I asked.

She nodded.

"I'm moving to a flat in the village here. I'm a Healer at St. Mungo's, but I'm tired of living in London with my parents. I've been out of Hogwarts for five years, and I've yet to move out of my parent's house. Pathetic, right?"

She laughed nervously. I shook my head.

"I don't think so," I assured her. "I ran away from my parents' house when I was sixteen and lived with my best mate's family. After Hogwarts, I lived with them up until their deaths, which was only about six months later. I didn't want to leave, and my mate told me I didn't have to, but I couldn't face that place without his parents."

Octavia and I sat in the kitchen and talked until dinner. Afterwards, I found Xeno and we exchanged opinions about the article on page four. He was explaining the natural habitat of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack when there was a shriek from upstairs. I wasted no time in running to it, wand outstretched.

I entered Neville's bedroom to find Augusta reprimanding Algie for… dropping Neville out of the window. Algie had apparently wanted to see if Neville had any magic; therefore, he had tried to scare the magic out of Neville by hanging him out of the window his ankles. Enid had offered Algie some meringue at one point. He had distractedly let go of Neville, who had not fallen to his death but had rather bounced to safety.

Though Algie was taking a sharp reprimand from Augusta like I hoped to never receive, there were proud grins on every one's faces. That was the last time Algie ever questioned Neville's magic. I found out later on, from Octavia, that Algie thought a lot of his great-nephew even though Augusta and Algie did not get along. That was the first time I had met Algie, Enid, and Octavia, I would come to see them quite often over the next few years.

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**A/N: I was beginning to fear I wasn't going to get this written this week. I've had to attend two funerals (which I find completely weird that there were two in a single week, especially since I live in such a small town) and could not devote as much time to writing as I would like to have. But it got written so I'm not going to complain.**

**Review?**


	42. Chapter 42

**This is me once again saying that this wonderful world belongs to JK Rowling and that I am merely playing around in it. **

Following that September, Neville took every opportunity to prove just how magical he was. Augusta swore up and down he was doing it on purpose—especially after his room was magically cleaned five minutes after she scolded him for a messy one—but I disagreed with her. I told her it was just years of latent magic catching up to him. She was, obviously, not amused by my explanation and sentenced me to watching Neville most afternoons after he finished his studies with Molly; she said I was to be responsible for her grandson's Marauderish moments.

That term—Marauderish—was coined by Octavia, actually. She, Augusta, Remus, and I were sitting around Augusta's living room one dreary day in early October while the Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Ron were upstairs in Neville's room getting into, no doubt, some sort of trouble.

Harry was growing up to be as big a handful as James had been, but I think he had just enough of Lily in him to keep him grounded in a way James never was. Hermione, the sweet child, was greatly influenced by not only Harry but also by Remus and I; we had restarted our prank war after too many months (or possibly years) of unintentional cease-fire. Though Hermione was still a bit of a stickler for the rules, she was gradually becoming more mischievous as the weeks flew by. Ron was the younger brother of Fred and George Weasley, who, according to Minerva, could "give the Marauders a run for their money"; Ron may have been a bit overshadowed by all of his elder brothers, but he was in his own element when he was with Harry, Hermione, and/or Neville. And Neville… with his newly discovered magic, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"You'll be getting owls from Professor McGonagall every day when that lot gets to Hogwarts!" Octavia said in response to Remus' account of the Famous Breakfast Scandal, where the four of them had somehow gotten a hold of a wand and proceeded to charm the breakfast table and food thereupon to dance around the kitchen and suddenly attack Remus and myself. That had occurred two weeks prior, and neither Remus nor myself had yet to built up the courage to once again offer to have Ron and Neville stay over on the same night. It had, after all, taken the better part of an hour and to stop the attack and that lot another two hours to clean it up without magic.

"What makes you assume they'll be Gryffindors?" I had asked although I did not personally see those four in any other house.

"They're too Marauderish to be in any other house," she replied.

"Marauderish?" Remus repeated, sounding just as intrigued as I was.

Octavia nodded.

"The four of you—the Marauders—were a legend," she said. "You may have graduated the June before I started Hogwarts in September, but you were heroes even to my year."

I grinned widely. Remus even managed to crack a smile, though I knew he was holding himself back; he wanted to grin just as much as I did, but he was supposed to be the level headed one of the two of us.

"Don't encourage them, Octavia," Augusta told her niece with a grin herself.

Octavia turned to her aunt.

"I don't think they need encouragement."

Augusta laughed.

"You do have a point."

"How do you exactly define _Marauderish_?" Remus asked.

"In brief terms?" she asked.

Remus nodded.

"Any action that echoes that of the great Marauders, including—but not limited to—the art of pranking and universal mischief."

I barked out a laugh, sounding more like my animagus than I had intended to. Even Remus could not help but to grin at that.

"Merlin help us all if they're anything like we were," Remus said.

Augusta nodded her head vigorously, agreeing wholeheartedly with Remus. Secretly, I also agreed, but I could picture James' proud face in my mind at the mention of his son following in his air-headed footsteps.

"In all actuality, though, do you really see any of them in a house other than Gryffindor?" Octavia asked.

I immediately shook my head.

"I see other houses' characteristics in them," Remus said carefully.

"I do as well," Augusta said. "I believe only Ron is undeniably Gryffindor."

"What do you mean?" I asked, wondering what 'undeniably Gryffindor' she could have seen in Ron at such an age.

"He's too hot-headed for Hufflepuff. He thinks with his emotions and deals with everything at his own pace. He lacks the drive for knowledge or the flair of creativity for Ravenclaw, and no Weasley would ever step a welcomed foot into Slytherin."

"Is that your sole reason he's not a Slytherin?" Octavia asked.

Augusta shook her head, but Remus was the one who answered.

"He's not cunning enough to be Slytherin or willing to look the other way when something bad happens."

"Unlike Harry, who is just sly enough to be a snake and just shrewd enough to be welcomed in the dungeons instead of the tower," Augusta added.

I had to laugh at that. I could not stop myself. _Harry Potter—a Slytherin?! The son of James and Lily Potter obtain his Hogwarts education from underneath the school as opposed to on top? _That was preposterous! There was no way in Godric's name that Harry Potter—my godson—would be a Slytherin.

Augusta evened her gaze at me.

"It's not as far-fetched as you might believe, Sirius," she said mildly.

"I highly doubt anyone with James' genes would be sentenced to seven years in the Slytherin House and a lifetime of loyalty."

"I didn't mean to imply he would be sorted there, Sirius. I was merely observing that he was Slytherin-like qualities."

Remus, who had been oddly pensive during Augusta's wild claim, said, "You're forgetting that Lily Potter was almost swayed to a Slytherin's side."

"_Snivellus_ will not be responsible for my godson being in Slytherin!" I insisted.

A silence fell over the room. No one wanted to say anything else on that subject. Octavia, after a few apprehensive seconds, diffused the tense atmosphere.

"Hermione has Ravenclaw written all over her. She's intelligent enough and has a willingness to learn that all Ravenclaws seem to possess."

"You should know," Augusta said. "That's your old house."

I realized that I had not, until that moment, known what house Octavia had been in. I had never really thought about it, but now that it was right there in front of me, I was unable to imagine her as a Hufflepuff or Slytherin or even a Gryffindor.

"Don't worry, Sirius, I won't try to persuade her to Ravenclaw," Octavia said with a teasing smile.

I laughed, the earlier anger I had felt at Harry's Slytherin-like qualities had long since disappeared.

"I never feared."

"Of course you didn't," she replied.

"You know, Augusta, you may have a Hufflepuff on your hands," Remus observed. "Neville's loyal and hardworking and has a distinct affinity for plants."

"He didn't turn Ron and Harry over when he was blamed for their late-night escapade to the quidditch orchard," I said, "even though it ended up getting him punished as well."

Augusta smiled fondly.

"Gets that from Frank, you know. Frank would have rather died than betrayed a friend."

"He would have," I agreed. There was a pained feeling in my chest—the same feeling I normally got whenever Frank or Alice or any other victim of the war was mentioned.

"I didn't like Alice in the beginning, you know," Augusta said in a voice that suggested her mind was far away from our current surroundings. "I thought she was too reckless for him. She had a daring streak that was characteristic for most all Gryffindors… all, that is, except Frank. She never backed down from a fight or stood aside while others were getting killed. She stood strong in her beliefs and her convictions, and Frank stood beside of her. He followed her everywhere and protected her and valued her life above his own. I yelled myself hoarse one too many times over his loyalty to and his love for her. In the end, it didn't matter. He loved her, and she him. The day they were married was the day I realized I was getting the daughter I'd always wanted. That was one of the best days of not only their lives but also of my life."

I remembered Alice and Frank before and while they were married. Frank followed Alice everywhere. It was like she hung the moon for him. He protected her and loved her and could not imagine his life without her. Alice, in return, was fierce and strong and ended up having to save Frank more than just a few times. They were a perfect team—both in marriage and as auror partners.

It seemed Neville was taking after both of his parents. I do not know how much Augusta realized that back then, but it was clear enough to me.

* * *

At any rate, that was how the term Marauderish came to be. The next couple of weeks flew by, and before I knew it, it was 30 October 1989—one year to the day our lives changed drastically once again.

I woke that morning with those swirling around Diane and Sarah. Would Diane and Snape have finished that potion? Would Sarah be talking by now? Walking by now? Trying to keep up with Harry and Hermione? It was cruel that fate did not allow us the opportunity to know for sure the answer to those questions.

When I finally forced myself downstairs, I found Remus sitting in the kitchen staring into a cold cup of tea. I imagined the tea had been hot when he had made it, but it was no telling how long he had been sitting down there.

"Morning, Moony," I greeted him.

He nodded his head once in recognition that I had said something, but he did not look up at me or attempt any form of communication. I cannot say I blamed him; it was one year to the day of one of the worst events in his life. As far as bad days go, 30 October 1988 rivaled the day he got bitten by Fenrir Greyback and 31 October 1981, the day James and Lily were murdered; I would go as far as to say the deaths of Diane and Sarah greatly surpassed all over hardships in Remus' life. No one should have to outlive their child, and neither should they lost both their spouse and said child with one go.

A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione walked into the kitchen. They, too, were aware of what that day was. They were unnaturally subdued. (Well, it was unnatural for Harry, at least.) I did not even have to ask them what they wanted for breakfast. They were old enough to get or ask for whatever it was that they wanted.

I poured myself a cup of tea and charmed Remus' hot once again. He nodded his thanks; he was unable to even offer a smile or anything else. It seemed to take too much effort to do anything more than just stare at a fixed position.

"Are we going to Aunt Dee's and Sarah's graves today?" Harry asked.

"I think it'll do all of us some good to," I replied. "Eat your breakfast. We'll go in a little while."

Neither Harry nor Hermione needed anymore prompting.

We had been to Diane and Sarah's graves many times over the past year. There were times when Remus went every single day. There were other times that _I _went every single day. Either one of us or both of us would take Harry and Hermione whenever they asked to go. The two would sit by their graves and tell them stories of what was going on. Harry loved telling Diane about whatever mess Remus or I made in her kitchen. Hermione enjoyed telling Sarah about all of the books she was reading; sometimes she would read an excerpt of a book to her.

There was nothing in the world that would have kept us from Diane and Sarah's gravesides that day. Time was healing the wounds that had been ripped open at their deaths, but they were very much still a part of our lives. They would no doubt remain a part of all of our lives forever.

Breakfast was consumed at the fastest rate I had ever before seen, and that was saying something because I used to be friends with James Potter—the boy who could not sit still whenever there was a chance he could talk to Lily. Before I knew it, everyone was dressed for the trip to the graveyard and we were making our way there.

Trying to explain the emotions that ran through me as I stood stoically beside of the graves Remus had thrown himself in front of was like trying to explain that awful moment during a broom dive—when it was difficult to determine which would catch me first: the broom or the ground. It was impossible to put the right words to those feelings.

"I miss you, Aunt Dee," Harry said, sitting on the ground in front of her grave, "and you, Sarah."

Hermione, sitting beside of Harry, reached over and took Harry's hand. She offered him the only comfort she could. It was all I could do to keep my knees from buckling. Remus ran his fingers over the cold concrete stones.

The air was cool that day, but the sun shined brightly. It was so clear that neither Diane nor Sarah would have a problem looking down at the four of us gathered around their graves. I had not felt this close to Diane and Sarah in a long while. If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend they were there with us. I could see Diane's smile brightening up the already bright afternoon. I imagined Sarah would have Remus' eyes, amber in color and twinkling with mischievousness.

We spent the next few hours gathered around their graves. Harry and Hermione wanted to tell Diane all about what they were learning from Molly and how Diane's kitchen was, surprisingly, still as spotless as she preferred. They told Sarah about their escapades with Neville and Ron, embellishing their stories with such enthusiasm that it was hard not to smile at even the most mundane ones. Remus spoke softly to Diane's grave. I tried not to listen, because I did not want to intrude on such a private moment. Then he spoke to Sarah even more softly, sounding every bit the father to her that he never got the chance to be.

Pretty soon, though, the air got cooler. I doubted that anyone would have run out of things to say, but there was a drag in the conversations. Harry and Hermione had told every single story they could think of that they had not already told, and Remus had taken to just running his fingers lovingly along the engraved names of the head stones. They finally said goodbye, promising to come back soon with more stories.

"You ready, Padfoot?" Remus asked me. I noticed his cheeks were not as damp as they used to be when he visited the graves. I guessed time really did heal all wounds or at least make them more bearable.

"You lot go on ahead," I replied. I wanted a few minutes alone, something I had not pressed for in the last few weeks. "I'll catch up."

Remus gazed at me for a few moments before he nodded his head.

"Let's go," he said to Harry and Hermione. "I told Molly I'd help her get everything ready for this evening. I know Ron and Ginny would probably enjoy the help of de-gnoming the garden."

They were among the only people I knew that enjoyed de-gnoming the garden. That was because the various Wesley children, Neville, Luna, Harry, and Hermione had made a game out of it. Harry was pretty good at it, only being beaten by the Weasley twins when they were there due to size differences. One day, I imaged he would give them a run for their money if they even still played the game in five or so years.

I watched Harry, Hermione, and Remus walk off before I turned back to the graves. Suddenly I was not sure what I wanted to say. I was silent for the longest time until I just opened my mouth and let the words fall as they wanted to.

"You have no idea how hard this last year has been, Diane."

That sounded like a good enough way to start it.

"Harry and Hermione are growing so fast; they'll be at Hogwarts in a few years. I never imagined you wouldn't be there with Remus and me to see them off for the first time—or even the last time. Little Sarah, I wanted to see her grow up. I wanted to see the colour of her eyes, the way she smiled, the first steps she took. I wanted to hear her laugh, speak her first words. Fate is such a cruel thing. I don't know what the future holds, Diane, but I do know that it's not the same without you. You were the closest thing to a sister I'd ever had."

_But so was Lily._ I thought to myself and wondered if it was just something about me that attracted death. I was a Black, after all. I had generations upon generations of bad karma running through my veins.

"Some days, I think I can take on the world. Other days, I find it difficult to step into the kitchen. I never realized how big of a part of our lives you were, Diane, until you were no longer there. I can cook now, if you can believe it, and so can Remus. The house doesn't quite feel complete without the constant smell of some potion, but my robes tend to smell like that after I work with Penelope so that helps a little."

Penelope and I had resumed work on the potion, starting over from square one, just a few weeks after the last one had exploded. We still were not sure what had gone wrong, but she was working closely with Snape to figure that out. She and he were relatively certain that the error lay in the last few steps. I trusted their judgment (well, mostly hers) enough to feel comfortable with working around the potion. We were nowhere near being finished, but if we were lucky, we might be done by mid-summer.

"I miss you every single day, Diane, and you, Sarah, but I know you're watching over us." I chuckled humourlessly a couple of times. "You're probably up there with Lily, James, David, and Jeannette. Maybe you're reminiscing with David and Jeannette about times when life was easier and all of you were still here, happy and alive. Maybe you're helping Lily keep James in line or maybe James is cooing over Sarah like I'll never get the chance to do. I don't know, but I can feel each of you in here." I put a hand over my heart, my mind travelling back to the many conversations I had with Harry and Hermione about the very same thing. "One day, hopefully after I've gotten to see Harry and Hermione grow up and get married and have their own children, I'll see you all again. Until then… just watch over us, all right? I have a feeling we're going to need that more and more over the course of the coming years."

I kissed my finger tips and touched the top of Diane's grave before doing the same to Sarah's. This was my customary goodbye. As I walked away from the gravesite, I could not help but to feel as though I was surrounded by friends—as if Lily and James were walking on one side of me and Diane was carrying Sarah on the other side of me, between me and the Grangers. If I closed my eyes, I could almost see the scene in my head. I walked to the Burrow with my lost friends by my sides, and I knew that, come what may, I would always have people to watch over me. We all would.

Later on, when I was sitting in the Weasleys' lounge on the worn-down sofa between Octavia and Professor McGonagall, I knew there were six other people in there that we could not see, but that did not mean they were not there. We exchanged stories of Lily and James and of Diane and talked about what Sarah might be like that day. We even spoke about the fond memories of David and Jeannette, because this gathering was not only in the honour of those who had died on that day but also to the loved ones we had prematurely lost.

The gathering was a somber affair; that much was obvious in each and every face. Dumbledore, sitting in a conjured arm chair squashed in the doorway to the kitchen, looked far older than he usually did. Molly and Arthur sat next to him on a sofa with Ginny and Ron sitting between them. Hagrid had a large conjured chair to himself, but Harry had climbed into his lap a while ago. I guessed sitting on Hagrid's knee was much like sitting in an actual chair. Besides, Hagrid was quite fond of Harry, and Harry thought the world of Hagrid. Remus, Snape, and Augusta sat in between Hagrid and McGonagall. Hermione had wedged in between Remus and Snape, and though the Slytherin had initially adopted his customary sneer, it did not last long once Hermione laid her hand on top of Snape's. On the other side of Octavia were Xeno and Penelope. Luna and Neville were the only two children still sitting in the floor, but they were sitting side-by-side leaned up against the Lovegoods' knees.

We were all crammed in that lounge. It should have been crowded, but it was not. There nothing more comfortable than sitting in a room filled with loved ones, even when that room includes Severus Snape. We were like one big family, and I doubt there was a soul in that room that would have rather been anywhere else in the world.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter did not end like I imagined it would when I started writing it, but oh well. I like this ending better than the one I had planned. So... what about a review? ;)  
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